


Mirror Bareil

by evenstar8705



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Mythology/Religion, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Gen, Mild Sexual Content, Mirror Universe, Partner Betrayal, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Past Sexual Abuse, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenstar8705/pseuds/evenstar8705
Summary: A deeper look at the character of Mirror Bareil Antos and his interactions with both Kiras and includes some scenes that I felt should have been in the episode 'Resurrection'.
Relationships: Bareil Antos/Kira Nerys, Kira Nerys/Mirror Kira Nerys, Mirror Kira Nerys & Tora Ziyal, Mirror Kira Nerys/Bareil Antos
Comments: 12
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

Bareil Antos sat as though he was in meditation but this Antos was no monk or Vedek. He lived on a different Bajor in an entirely different universe. He didn’t wear temple robes and smelled of grease instead of temple spices. He was simply incensed in a prison cell and found the floor more comfortable than the rock hard bed with no mattress, pillows or blankets. He had been in prison before just not in Ilvia’s system. 

He knew he needed to bide his time and sooner or later he would be busting out of this place on his own. There was always a way whether it was through promising a bribe to the right corrupt warden, crafting a good old fashioned lock pick, earning enough privileges to gain access to a computer to hack, or simply making a run for it and taking his chances when they took him outside for exercise. He was a thief and escape artist.

He was looking around his cell for any sort of hiding place for tools when a prison warden rattled their weapon against the bars. He glared at him.

“I’m so sorry pretty man,” the voice of the warden was unfamiliar and female. “Did I disturb you from a sweet dream?”

“I can’t sleep sitting up. Who are you?” Antos replied.

She shuffled away the shabby robes of a warden and stood before him shamelessly in her skin tight black and silver uniform. She had a crown like a silver circlet about her brow. She smirked as she ran a hand through her short but fiery red hair and batted dark and sultry eyes at him. He squinted at her. He had seen more beautiful women, but something about this particular one demanded attention. Perhaps it was the glint in her dark eyes or the way she carried herself in that uniform. There was definitely nothing else interesting to look at.

“Does this place allow conjugal visits?” he said with perverse amusement. “Have I been so much better behaved than the other murderers and thieves that I have earned a reward? I think this is officially my favorite prison! I’d rate it higher than a five star hotel if that’s the case!”

“Oh, aren’t you a hoot?” the woman’s expression became even more lustful. “Much as I enjoy role-play, I do not like the idea of copulating in an actual dirty and dingy cell. You haven’t earned my touch yet either. You are just a thief, Antos.”

“Congratulations you know how to find a prison roster,” Antos was unimpressed and much less interested now that she had dismissed his attempt at sycophancy. “Wait a minute. You said I haven’t earned your touch YET.”

“Do you have any idea who I am, criminal?”

“A smoking hot babe.”

She scoffed, “Oh, Antos, that’s so obvious! I was told that you were charismatic but you are going to have to make much more of an effort than that to flatter me! I have plenty of people that tell me daily that I'm beautiful and not because they have to. I'm a little disappointed! Well, at least you have eyes and at least a few brain cells in that block head of yours! I’m the Intendant of Bajor. Does that title mean anything to you?”

“Of course it does.”

Antos became apprehensive but didn’t let it show in his voice or body language. He had learned to fake his confidence until he really did become bold and fearless. He was an adrenaline junkie anyway and already had inkling that this woman had plans for him and wouldn’t kill him or leave him in this cell to rot. 

“Look at me!” she commanded him.

He rose to his feet and spun about like a male model, grinning at her. 

“No!” she laughed. “No, look me in the face, Antos!”

He stepped forward, pressing his face to the bars. She studied him critically then smiled deviously.

“I’m so glad to have finally found you, Bareil Antos. I’ve been looking for you for months now. It was a lucky break for me that you slipped up and got yourself in here.”

“What do you want with me?”

Her voice sank to a whisper, “I’m going to make you a God Emperor!”


	2. Her Kingdom

The Intendant dragged him from his cell and shoved him into a shuttle. She barked an order and they launched into space. Four hours later they were aboard a space station, her personal kingdom. Antos still wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. She wasn’t explaining anything to him in the meantime. She dug her nails into him as she gripped his arm and he decided thanks to that he must be awake after all.

“He smells like trash!” she said to her servants. “First rule you must adhere to on my station, Antos, is this; Cleanliness is next to godliness!”

She thrust him toward the others. Her servants were a mix of men and women of different species. They washed him, scrubbed his skin raw, then they removed nearly all his body hair. The hair remaining on his head was carefully trimmed and combed. They measured him and weighed him. They sprayed him with cologne and gave him new and clean clothes to wear. 

“Is this some sort of colorful night robe?” he demanded when they handed him the clothing.

“The Intendant needs to see how close the resemblance is. Clothing and manners maketh a man,” they replied. “You will wear what you are given or you will remain naked.”

“Fine!”

He put on the robes of orange and red and only then was he allowed back in the Intendant’s presence. She clapped her hands together with delight.

“Much better! The resemblance is uncanny! You also just look and smell so much nicer! Now it is my turn to be pampered. I love Bajor but I’ve grown accustomed to the sterility and silence of space. I need to soak in hot fragrant water for a while.”

“May I join?” Antos asked eagerly.

“No,” she said firmly.

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy!” he chuckled. “It was worth a try.”

“Aw,” she adopted practically a baby voice, “I do find it encouraging that you are trying!”

“What am I to do with myself while you’re gone?”

“Read some literature.”

“Is it spicy literature?”

“You’ll see.”

He tried not to let his thoughts wander along with her as he glanced at the literature she wanted him to read. He was disappointed that it was dull accounts of religious doctrines. He found it very hard to believe that the Intendant was the soul searching type. Why would she want him to read this rubbish?

When he looked up from the words he was startled to see a full grown hara cat inches from him and crouched like she was going to lunge. She was such a silent predator that he didn’t hear her coming. He froze in absolute terror for a moment. Hara cats were almost extinct on their native Bajor. Then his human brain checked back in. He made himself as tall as he could, spread his arms to look wider and more menacing, and he roared as loudly as he could in an attempt to scare the big cat away.

The hara cat looked confused. Then she batted him with surprising gentleness and licked his nose. Her tongue was sand papery and her breath hot as dessert air.

“Looks like she likes you!” a young woman’s voice said.

“That’s a relief, right?”

“The Intendant will be pleased. She relies on Mia to judge a man or woman’s character.”

Antos nudged the tamed beast away to identify the speaker. He stared because the girl’s appearance was more unexpected than the existence of the animal. She was clearly a Cardassian and Bajoran hybrid. Such a mix and relations between those two species was frowned upon in his universe as well as the other. Did the Intendant have a macabre habit of collecting freaks of nature and wild and dangerous things?

“My name is Ziyal,” the young thing did have a sweet and lovely smile. “I’m happy to meet you, Bareil Antos. The Intendant told me to avoid you but I couldn’t stop myself.”

“Why would you be so excited to meet me?” he asked. “I’m just a thief she seized from a prison! How do you know I won’t hurt you?”

“I own a hara cat, silly! She can still tear your limbs off and devour them.”

“Good point.”

“I wanted to see you because I’m hoping that you will be good for her and make her happy.”

“And what exactly are you to her?” he asked nervously.

He had heard dark rumors about the Intendant’s tastes. He was worried this hybrid might be a favored and secret lover.

“She is my sister.”

“What?”

“She’s not my biological sister obviously. We were raised by the same man though.”

“A Cardassian man?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid I can’t say anything more about that. She’ll be very angry I mentioned it. Mia, it’s feeding time! Let’s go, kitty!”

The hara cat followed Ziyal out of the room, yowling like a hungry house cat. Antos was worrying over the idea of trying to escape this labyrinth of horrors in space when its queen returned dressed in a beautiful golden evening gown. Her eyelids and nails were painted with powdered gold and she wore gold anklets that rang almost like bells with every step she took. She swapped the silver crown for a golden one. She took his breath away. She apparently always had to make a dramatic entrance.

“You’re not doing your homework, lazy bones!” she chided. “If you disobey me, I will punish you. Don’t test me!”

“I’m confused by my assignment,” he responded. “It’s really not my subject.”

“No, but it is your counter part’s subject. That’s the point: To make you more like him. The clothes help.”

“I’m sorry, but who is this person that you want to make me more like? Do I have a long lost twin or clone that I don’t know about? Do I get to meet him?”

“Close but no cigar! Be good and I’ll give you a sugar cube though!” the Intendant teased.

“You mentioned making me a god emperor or something. We have a Klingon emperor. What is a sugar cube?”

“A Terran treat. Those filthy rats are fighting us now but I still enjoy some of their cuisine once in a bloody while. Would you like to try some sugar?”

“What’s the catch?”

“For what exactly; the sugar?”

“For all of this!” Antos gestured all around.

She replicated a perfect cube of white crystallized sugar and held it out to him in the palm of her hand, “The catch is that you will belong to me, Bareil Antos. That includes every hair on your body until the day you die most likely by this very hand.”

“Hm. Shame you had so much of my hair removed then.”

“To be fair, I prefer all my partners’ clean shaven. I hold myself to the same standard.”

“Cardassians prefer it that way too.”

Her eyes flashed at the mention of that species. “I have a plot to unite the Bajoran people and crush the Alliance and put the Klingons in their place! I’ve learned some lessons from our alternate universe. The other Bajor is filled with zealous idiots but it gives them something our people lack. You and I will invent a religion and be the leaders of it. That will make us leaders of the galaxy as the faith and our power and influence spreads in time.”

“How is that going to work?”

“You are a thief. You are going to steal an Orb for me and then you will become your alternate Vedek Bariel Antos.”

“Vedek?”

She sighed, “This is why I told you to read!”

“What am I getting out of this if I agree to this insane plot of yours? Is the Orb thing so powerful it could really give us some sort of edge against the Alliance and Klingons? Is it a weapon? That would be far more useful than converting our people. Have you spent much time down there? It’s awful! I don’t have faith in anything but money and I look out for my interests. I am a thief and I like money. Do I at least get that much for selling myself to you?”

“Antos, Antos, Antos!” she began to stroke his chest with smooth, circular motions. “Well, let’s see about that. You would get me, so much money that you couldn’t possibly spend it all in your lifetime, power, respect (I can tell you’ve never truly had that) and last of all you will get me!”

“You mentioned yourself twice,” he pointed out.

“Anything worth having is worth repeating!”

“You might be right, but are you really worth having?”

Her mouth twisted into a mask of pure malice. She struck him hard in the jaw. He was astonished by the strength of her arm. She caused part of his lip to slide over a jagged part of tooth. Blood blossomed on his bottom lip. He struggled to keep his balance and temper. 

“Fight back, I dare you!” she roared like the hara cat.

“I’m not stupid! There’s guards outside the door and countless others on this station that can do your dirty work for you.”

She reverted back to an angelic smile so fast it was scary, “Good! Did I knock out a tooth? Let me see!”

He winced as she took his chin in her hands, shoving the sugar cube between his teeth first. She saw they were intact with the exception of a chipped tooth. That had been chipped since childhood though.

“You are quite handsome!” she said softly and traced his jawbone. “The Major has good taste! She had better! She is me!”

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“You’re very welcome!”

She kissed him and he instantly forgave her for striking him. His impulse to say whatever was on his mind was a terrible flaw now that he thought about it. She twirled her tongue expertly around his. It still had traces of sugar. He groaned with disappointment when she pulled away. Then she gave him another kiss, not open mouthed, but a sweet kiss as though she were leaving a signature upon his lips. Some blood was left imprinted on hers. 

“Intendant, there’s a little something-“

“Yes, I know.” She licked her lips and smirked, “You taste iron deficient, Antos. Better add some red meat to your diet.”

“Are you dictating my diet now too?” he complained.

“Do you want me to hit you harder? Please don’t make me do that!” she pouted.

“You could persuade me more gently,” he suggested. “Maybe I could surprise you and please you?”

She shook her head, “I’m starting to think that the only man or woman that can truly please me to my full satisfaction is me. I’ll let you try after you read that material and prove you somewhat understand it. Got it?”

He sighed and began to read obediently.


	3. The Intendant

After months of grueling work reading about various myths, tenants, theologies, and philosophies, Antos felt like his brain had turned to mush incapable of absorbing any new information. None of it made a lick of sense, he hated reading every line, and to top it all off, none of it had anything to do with the Prophets, the Orbs, or the Bajoran religion in the other universe. Then Intendant didn’t have any of that information beyond the few details the Major, her counterpart, had told her.

“This is a waste of time!” he said. “I’m sick of it!”

“If you’re going to pose as a spiritual leader, you need to know enough to prattle inspiring words and make the sheep bleat.”

“I am an atheist!”

“So am I! We both know how to lie!”

“These are alien religions.”

“It’s all the same bullshit, Antos! With enough time it all will blend and mend together into colossal disarray no one can pick apart, a soup of nonsensical drivel. It’s the adult equivalent of regurgitating nursery rhymes to children to shut them up and make them behave!”

“Have you ever spoken nursery rhymes to children?”

“Ugh! No! I hate children!”

“Future rascals and thieves is all they are,” Antos agreed.

During these weeks, the Intendant had tested more than his knowledge of scripture. She had sent beautiful and naked women to his room to distract him from the task she gave him and to try to seduce him from the Intendant. He brushed them away, too clever to fall for her obvious traps. She kept him on a rigid schedule, groomed and pampered, and she flaunted her charms but refused his touch every single night.

She was a sadistic but irresistible mistress. She could make things very pleasant for him as long as she got her way. She would constantly test his loyalty. She was controlling, suspicious, and vain. She could also have rare moments of tenderness, she was never boring, and she was sexy as hell. He couldn’t deny the harsh attraction he had to the Intendant the moment he met her.

“Bring me a drink!” she ordered.

“What are you thirsting for?”

“Surprise me!”

He mixed a special concoction. He had posed as a bartender to avoid arrest for months and enjoyed researching drinks and mixology. He picked up unusual and unexpected talents in his criminal career. Luckily, the Intendant loved it.

“Mmm, not so bad!” she gestured him closer and rewarded him with a kiss. “You’re not so bad either!”

He didn’t have nearly the experience she did. Few could match her. She paired with men and women that were Bajoran, Terran, Klingon, Trill, and so many others. She craved variety and new experiences. Her rules were simple and there weren’t many. She called the shots and she required that her partners never be boring. 

I suppose I should be flattered she sees anything in me, Antos told himself. And despite everything, I may be falling hard for her. She could have any man or woman she wants. I am simply a petty thief she needs for her plan.

He kissed her back and longed for so much more. Her skin was splendid. Even when she was angry she was strikingly beautiful. She had the power of a succubus, a female demon in some alien myth he read about with insatiable lust that fed from their victims’ sexual energy. He could think of far worse ways to go out of the universe. He didn’t mind becoming a withered husk for this woman.

She chomped on his ear, making him cry out a little.

“Grow some thicker skin, Antos!” she said disparagingly. “We need to work on your pain tolerance.”

“How high is yours?”

“I prefer to inflict pain. Not too much with my lovers, for too much pain spoils the pleasure! However, I am almost certain I could tolerate more than you! In my experience, women tolerate it better as long as they know it is coming. Just watch and compare men and women that sit down for a tattoo as a tiny example. The men squirm and whine like babies!”

“Do you have tattoos?”

“One,” she raised a single finger.

“May I see it?”

She grinned. The drink had put her in an enormously generous mood and perhaps she was finally willing to admit she wanted him too. She guided his hand to the zipper in the back of that shiny silver and black uniform of hers. He unzipped it as far as she allowed. Between her shoulder blades were glyphs spelling out a single word he couldn’t read.

“Are those Cardassian glyphs?” he was puzzled.

“Yep.”

“What does it say?” he kissed every inch of exposed skin.

“Skrain,” she whispered.

“Is that a name or a phrase?”

She clutched a handful of his short dark hair so that she could glare into his eyes and said, “I agreed to show you the thing not explain it! I’ll let you have me tonight and take you for my lover but I’m not telling you squat about that!”

“OK, OK!” he raised his hands and promised, “I won’t ask again!”

“Keep unzipping me then and take off your clothes, Antos!” she commanded. “Now before I change my mind!”

He was overjoyed. Every carnal fantasy he had she satisfied. He hoped having scratched that itch, he would feel different after. Instead he was far more enslaved by her than before. He wanted more. Another woman didn’t interest him anymore.

That’s why he was shocked when the Intendant announced, “You’re a good lover. Not great, but I can refine you. I forgot to tell you that part of the plan is that you need to seduce my alternate.”

“What?” he rasped.

“The Major!” her eyes glinted.

“Is that really necessary?” he sputtered, convinced this was a horrible sick joke or the most dangerous trap yet.

“Pity you can’t have us both at the same time!” she sighed. “That could be so much fun!”

“Nerys-“

She struck him hard, this time aiming for his ear and hissed, “Never use my name ever, ever again, Bareil Antos! No one calls me that! Get out of my bed before I kill you or slap a slave collar on you!”

His ear rang and his head throbbed. He was quick to obey. She could be quite the vicious bitch. He should despise her. Part of him was beginning to, but he knew she owned him already.

Ziyal snuck into his room that night to nurse his ear. The Intendant had done more damage than either of them thought. He needed blood drained from it and the hybrid girl used Cardassian medicine and care to help him. 

“Ziyal, what does the word ‘Skrain’ mean to you?” he worked up the courage to ask.

The girl assumed the Intendant must have already told him some of what she said, “Skrain is the given name of my father and the man that raised Kira up from the time she was three, though he secretly adopted her at age twelve when her mother died. Skrain Dukat loved her in a different way than he ever loved me. I was his actual child. Kira was a whole lot more to him.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means she has a lot of mixed feelings about him now. Let’s just say he made her the way she is today and she is both grateful and resentful for that.”

“Where is this man?”

“He is part of the Central Command of Cardassia. He abandoned me as much as he did her when she no longer would give him what he wanted,” Ziyal said sadly. “My mother was Tora Naprem and died when I was young. Kira took me in and Mia and I have been here since.”

“I didn’t think that woman could love anyone purely.”

Ziyal gave him a contemptuous glance, “She has always told me that true love doesn’t exist. People are just fond of each other. That’s as good as it gets. She is wonderful, Bareil Antos! It doesn’t matter though. All of her lovers either betray her or die. Don’t be one of those betrayers or I will kill you myself! I believe in loyalty, and every bone in my body is devoted to Kira!”

“That’s my precious little moth!” the Intendant walked in on them. “I did tell you to avoid this man, didn’t I?”

Ziyal pouted, “Oh, Intendant, please don’t be angry with me!”

“I could never be angry with you! Show me your new paintings!” the woman purred.

Antos watched in fascination as the Intendant became motherly and doting. This was a side of her he had never seen. She kissed Ziyal’s lips, but it was a light kiss and no kiss of lust. She seemed to appreciate her water paintings, and then she lightly smacked the girl’s rump and sent her and the hara cat on their way. Ziyal had the Intendant wrapped around her finger somehow. She knew how to pitch her voice just right to calm her temper, she touched her softly to ease her nerves, and she kissed the woman back with real affection.

“You must never speak of that girl to anyone off this station!” the Intendant told him. “Never! Do you understand me? As a hybrid, she is always in danger, and not just because she is close with me!”

“I won’t breathe a word of your secrets.”

“Best not!”

“So, I need to know several things about your plan, Intendant. The Major, what is she like?”

The Intendant snickered, “She’s a self righteous little hypocrite, a prude, and more arrogant than I am! She should be quite easy to manipulate. She loved your counterpart already. You were her first love.”

“I am? I mean he was?” Antos could have kicked himself for stumbling.

“Yes. All you will have to do is look at her and her heart will erupt in grief and love. Next, you need to make up a sob story about your long lost love. Tell her you’re a lost little lamb seeking purpose. She’ll probably drag you to her temple and trip over herself in an attempt to convert you!”

“Do you really think it’s going to be that easy?”

“I’m certain of it! Now tell me about your lost lover. I know you were imprisoned for trying to get revenge for the woman you loved previously. Tell me about her.”

“You mean Lisea?” Antos hesitated.

“Don’t make me interrogate you!” the Intendant’s smile curled into a frown too easily.

“She was a naïve girl that came to Ilvia for adventure.”

“No, no, no!” the Intendant shook her head. “That background for her won’t do! She can’t just be an innocent girl bored out of her mind seeking adventure!”

“Excuse me? You want me to lie about Lisea?”

“We need to seduce the Major, Antos! Exaggerate a bit and tell her that you saved her from a life of prostitution! That will make you look like a hero and sympathetic to sex workers.”

“Was the Major a sex worker?”

“I told you the Major is a prude! She’d never work such a job even willingly! She’d die first! It’s half the reason she became a soldier, idiot! If you tell her that Lisea was destined for that sort of work, she’ll instantly become sympathetic. She’ll think the world of you! But don’t boast and brag about rescuing Lisea from a hard life. Make it sound like that pretty little thing saved you. Then really ham it up about how much you missed her, loved her, cared for her, and regretted not telling her how much you really felt for her!”

Antos nodded, but he felt terribly uncomfortable. He had cared a great deal for Lisea. Speaking about her loss with real grief wouldn’t be hard. Twisting the details and using shared grief seemed low even for him. He reminded himself that the Intendant must be right. The Major sounded like a dull and pale version of this woman. He had used and manipulated women before just to get a handful of coins. He should have no qualms hoodwinking Kira Nerys.

“Tell me more, Antos!” the Intendant’s eyes were full of glee. “And you must promise to tell me every detail about what the Major is like in bed! Don’t spare me any detail! I’m dying to know myself!”


	4. Lisea

The Intendant demanded every detail of his life so that she could figure out which elements to embellish and which to leave alone so that the Major wouldn’t catch on that they were twisting the truth. She warned him not to reveal any details too soon, the lies or the truth, unless she nagged him for them. It would raise her alarm bells if he was forthcoming within the first moments.

The real story was that Antos was born to loving and perfectly normal parents in the Relliketh province of Bajor. They were farmers that attempted to scratch a living from polluted soil. He realized from a young age that was not much of a life at all and that his parents were wasting away from their hard work and not getting the reward they expected. He vowed not to waste himself away and turned to small time crime. His prolonged juvenile career seasoned him into a master thief. 

His family didn’t disown him but he left his parents and siblings as soon as he came of age. He traveled throughout the planet, working his way through every hovel, village, and city. As soon as he gained a reputation for his cons and picked a place clean of valuables, he moved on to avoid prosecution and bounty hunters. 

He had flings in nearly every province of Bajor with far more failed romances and friendships than successful ones. He was betrayed so often by his partners in crime he was determined to work alone. His attempts to settle down were even worse. The first girl cheated on him so he cheated on the second. The third girl promised to wait for him when he was briefly imprisoned. He assured her he wouldn’t serve his entire sentence. Within three months he escaped but his lover couldn’t even wait that long. When he arrived at her home she was engaged and pregnant with that man’s child. The very last girl was the sort that wanted to fix him but broke it off with him after he swindled her uncle and cousins of their money. 

The Intendant wanted the names of the girls and exactly how talented they were in bed, but he insisted none of them were anything special. He and the first girl had been virgins that had no idea what they were doing. The second girl was looking for love in the wrong places, the third girl was terrible and that’s partially why he cheated, and the fourth girl was an actual prude. If the Major was like her, he was going to be chomping at his bit with remembered resentment.

He eventually found himself in Ilvia, a seedier place than most but the constantly shifting population of aliens mixed with shady natives helped hide him well. A girl like Lisea just didn’t belong and stuck out like a sore thumb despite her sandy traveling garb, hiding most of her features. She walked around as though there was nowhere safer with a bulging coin purse at her waist. 

When he reached for the purse, she grabbed his hand and pointed a weapon in his face with the free one.

“Are you an agent or bounty hunter?” he asked with a jolt of alarm.

“No. You were trying to grope me, right, and my purse had nothing to do with you reaching down?”

“Uh, yeah, totally that’s what I was doing!”

“How’d you know I was a gal? Do you grab any and every type of traveler?”

He laughed nervously and she tossed him a few coins from her purse.

“Buy me a drink, thief!”

“As you wish, princess.”

“You’re not far off when you call me that.”

She removed her hood and the mask to keep out the pollution. She was mocha-skinned with brown eyes and black wavy hair. There were blue streaks dyed throughout it. She didn’t smell of sulfur, her pores weren’t clogged with dirt, and her nails were manicured.

After a few drinks to loosen them up, she told him that her name was Lisea. Unlike his parents, hers were rich and lazy. She was the only heiress of a fortune. They gave her material possessions galore but relied on nannies indentured from Terra (Earth) to raise her. She didn’t like the way her mother and father treated them and the careless way they squandered their money. 

“Money is only as good as the good it does,” she said to him.

“Money makes the universe go around,” he said more accurately. 

“I’ve seen dirt poor families make their happiness without a cent to their names.”

“Just what are you doing here and how old are you?”

“I’m fifteen and a runaway. I want to steal from the arrogant rich and give back to the poor. I need a proper teacher to accomplish this.”

At first Antos laughed her off, “Go home, little girl! This is no place for you. You will be eaten alive or taken off planet as an indentured slave or worse.”

“I’m never going back to that gilded cage!” her jaw was set. “Criminals are more honest than my fake relatives! I will pay you everything I have!”

He took her money and said, “First lesson is that my kind absolutely are just as terrible as your folks! We are even worse! They take money legally and nonviolently for the most part. I don’t murder anyone unless I have no other choice, but others would slice you up just for your purse. I’m leaving you enough to get back home. I better not see you again.”

She followed him, managing to track him nearly everywhere he went. He couldn’t shake her. Lisea never turned to the pleasure palace but she did need to eat eventually and spent the last of her coin to do so. She was caught red handed stealing her next meal. Antos should have let her get arrested. She was still technically a child for another year. Her parents would be alerted and return her to a life of ease and comfort. 

But Antos could be stupidly impulsive and that particular day he was in a gambling mood. He talked the authorities out of arresting her. Lisea was impressed.

“Do you know mind tricks?”

“Not really. I could tell those men were tired and not interested in filling out forms and files on a teenager stealing leftovers from aliens. If you had told them about you fortune, however, you might have been given to a real cartel of criminals for ransom.”

“So I need to study people to discover ways out of capture?”

“Yes. Reaching into pockets is risky. Everyone in Ilvia is armed and dangerous. Lots of idiots will willingly give you their money if you string them along properly.”

“You are going to teach me, yes?” she looked at him eagerly.

He sighed, “I suppose I am.”

Lisea was young, exuberant, and annoyingly cheerful most days. She acted as though waking up squatting in someone else’s home was exciting. She was proud of the bedding they were forced to use in the trash heaps when they couldn’t break into a proper house. At least it was her dirty mattress and not handed to her by her snobby parents. She had a quirky case of kleptomania for shiny blue things. She squealed with such delight when he found a blue top that lit up with artificial lights he had to cover his ears to protect his hearing and sanity.

Unlike his former friends and partners, Lisea never dreamed of undercutting him, turning him in for a reward, or ghosting him. They made a great team. She was pretty and young enough that she could stage distractions. She was petite and could crawl into places he couldn’t reach, making her perfect for thieving. She was almost perfect once he got past her perkiness.

They had been partners for over a year when the dynamic changed. He saw her as a student and kid sister until they were nearly exposed in the middle of a robbery. Antos had false information about the schedules of the guards of the house. Lisea was quick witted and grabbed him and began kissing him in a quick cover.

“Dear me!” the guard was embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt two love birds! Get a room somewhere, will you? You are trespassing!”

“We have nowhere private to go!” Lisea whined. “Can’t you give us just fifteen minutes? Please?”

The man groaned, “Oh, alright! Don’t let me catch you here again and you only get ten minutes!”

“Ten minutes is all I need,” Antos quipped. 

That was more than enough time for them to get in the house, grab a hefty amount, and flee the scene. Antos manipulated their security system easily to erase their existence through technology. All they needed was a change of clothes and a temporary dye of hair to throw off the description the single guard might give the owners. 

“What a score!” they celebrated later.

“Remember, I get my cut, Antos!” Lisea reminded him. “And I think I should get seventy-five percent this gig on account of my stroke of brilliance!”

“Sixty percent!” he was a swindler even with her. “No more! I hate that you give away nearly all your cut to the poor every time!”

“All I need is enough for a good meal and a new outfit once in a blue moon. You know my parents insisted I change my clothes at least twice a day? If they recognized an outfit, they would berate me for looking poor and trashy?”

“Do fancy clothes rip and tear that easily?”

“No, they just love shiny new things.”

“Is that why you like shiny blue things? You just can’t get away from liking at least one thing that’s fancy?”

She smacked his arm and after sloshing themselves with more alcohol, she asked, “Antos, can I kiss you for real?”

Antos hesitated because even drunk he had slight qualms. Lisea was sixteen which meant she was an adult by Bajoran standards. The age of consent was two years lower than that. Lisea had emancipated herself from her parents. She was attractive. He had just had no luck with women and this girl was different. But he was a man and it didn’t take much to egg him on. 

He kissed her and for a year, they were happy. The Intendant told him he should exaggerate and tell the Major it was a five year relationship. In truth, he knew Lisea for two years and they were lovers for half of that. He knew it was too good to be true. He didn’t deserve someone as good as Lisea and she was no saint. 

She was a virgin and yet she was just the way she always was. She was perky and eager to learn and please Bareil Antos. She was like a playful kitten and reveled in dirty talk. Away from her parents, she had a talent for picking up curse words and filthy language from aliens. He found that cute and entertaining. She was entirely his.

His happiness was dashed and it was over nothing. The Intendant changed the story again, but what really happened was Lisea had adopted his habit of saying whatever came to her mind. She was young and bold. She trusted in Lady Luck far too much. She was drunk and wanted everyone to be as playful as she was. A group of Klingons caught her eye and she decided they were being far too serious for her liking. She wanted to tease them and get them riled up.

“It’s not wise to provoke Klingons,” he warned her. “Even I know that.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” she said fatefully.

The problem with adventures is that an adventure could become a disastrous nightmare in the blink of an eye. She challenged the biggest Klingon to a drinking contest.

“Go away you annoying insect!” the alien growled.

“Are you some sort of coward?” she responded in Klingon. “Are you afraid of a little girl?”

He swatted at her the way he would at a fly. The blow was ill aimed and Lady Luck decided to play a sick joke. He struck the fragile Bajoran girl in the temple and that’s all it took. Lisea slumped to the floor. Antos thought she was playing and the Klingon demanded she get up. She was still and never moved or breathed again. She was dead.

The Klingon looked shocked for a moment and his comrades didn’t look happy with him. There was no honor in killing what looked to them like a child baiting a warrior without a clue. She spoke Klingon but she was clearly not. Antos was furious, though. He vowed revenge, but he was so emotionally devastated he was dumb enough to threaten it for half the street to hear. 

“Let’s leave before this fool gets himself killed too!” the Klingon leader informed his men.

“This is why the entire galaxy hates you and your Emperor!” Antos tried to rouse the Bajorans and other aliens in the bar. “You creatures are violent and clumsy oafs! You murdered my Lisea! Don’t think you will get away with this!” 

It didn’t matter that Bajor seethed against the yoke of Emperor Worf and the Alliance. The witnesses could see that this was no act of violence. It was a terrible accident. Lisea’s body was taken to the public morgue. Her family would be notified and their search for their only child would end in the worst possible news for parents. Their grief and rage couldn’t match his.

Antos was caught the next night hacking into their security system. The Klingons' own turrets would have slaughtered them all as they slept if one of them hadn’t got up to take a leak and share the watch with his comrade. 

You’d think that would be tragic enough, but no. The Intendant insisted it should be cold blooded murder when he told the Major the story. She wanted to add other outrageous crimes, but after repeating the story, Antos found he was starting to like the Intendant a little less the way she gleefully dissected his pain and sharpened it to use against her counterpart. 

“Don’t look so down in the dumps, Antos!” she mocked him. “Lisea can’t be happy or sad anymore. She’s simply dead. We both know that we’re all just pretty clumps of meat animated by chemicals and cells with no rhyme or reason! Forget her! She certainly can’t think of you or show you affection anymore. How long before you think she would have sold you out when her backwards philosophy horribly backfired on her? A few more years of living on the fringe and she would have begged for her rich parents to take her back!”

“I think you’re wrong!” he blurted.

“I’ll help you forget!”

The Intendant took him to bed and it quickly became a contest to see who could inflict the most pain on the other not so much pleasure. She made no sound and grinned nastily when he slapped her. She gnashed her teeth and wrapped her hands around his throat. He longed for death for a moment. He longed for Lisea, not this woman. She kept strangling him until he thought he would be on his way to oblivion. When he came back to consciousness, the Intendant acted as though nothing had happened and it had been a regular romp in the sheets.

“By the stars, woman, I thought you were going to kill me!” he rubbed his neck where her nails and hands had made angry red marks.

She laughed sadistically, “It’s much harder and takes far longer to strangle someone than you know, Antos! Clearly you’ve never used the method before. The victim always passes out first. Now keep your story straight. We have the transponder. You meet the Major tomorrow.”


	5. The Major

Bareil Antos had nothing but preconceived notions about who Major Kira was before crossing over to the other universe and the Intendant didn’t want them to be positive. He feigned complete ignorance of everything and pretended to be a petty thief on the run and accidentally made it to the entirely wrong universe. He didn’t show a hint of recognition when looking at the Major for the first time and pretended to know even less of his alternate. He’d never found it hard to play dumb. That was incredibly easy. People had underestimated him all his life. 

No, what kept threatening to blow his cover was the Major herself. The moment she saw him, she looked as though she had seen a ghost. He prayed to the Void that no alternate Lisea existed. He realized he would have the same troubled look on his face.   
There was no silly crown on her head and she wore a crimson colored uniform not black and shining silver. During his attempt to hold her hostage and flee the station, he couldn’t help but comment about how good it looked. She was calm during the whole thing and didn’t cry to her Captain Sisko for help like a damsel in distress. 

The Intendant predicted the outcome of his introduction eerily well. The Major was so calm because she wasn’t stupid or helpless. She identified the flaw in his weapon quickly and defended herself adequately. She refused to press charges and took him on as a sort of charity case instead. He was disgusted she was so easy to predict and he hated when people took it upon themselves to ‘help’ him. She was going to be just like his prudish girlfriend of the past and he could tell seducing her would be a prolonged chore.

But he was utterly wrong. The Major asked after him for a few days and didn’t approach him directly. He had to find an excuse to bump into her to establish anything more between them. Was she purposely avoiding him, her first love?

Damn it, Antos, he scolded himself. The Vedek was her first love, not you! She knows that better than you do! She must have enough of the Intendant in her to always remain a step ahead of you expecting trouble. 

He began asking her questions about Vedek Bareil and this new universe. He experienced real shock despite the preparations. The Major hesitated and gave him general information, no personal details. He was surprised. She was forthcoming but he thought she’d gossip like a school girl and compare him and his alternate with long and detailed lists. The Intendant had compared him to the Vedek more and complained he always needed improvement in one way or another. 

If getting her to open up about the Vedek was an obstacle, getting her to invite him to the shrine and give him access to the orb he had come for was going to be worse. Well, getting to the shrine wasn’t hard. The monk standing outside literally welcomed him with open arms and Major Kira extended a mild and friendly invitation when he followed her there. 

He couldn’t appear to be overeager and give away his true motive. The atheist in him was repulsed. A small part of him worried if the Prophets were real in this universe, they’d strike him for entering their holy place. It was fear of the Intendant that drove him to join the Major at last. He knew that was a clear and real threat.

For the second time, he was surprised. The Intendant was wrong about the Major’s religious fervor. She was spiritual but not dogmatic and pushy. She explained her religion happily but didn’t force-feed him the teachings or pressure him into accepting this strange version of Bajoran culture. She was a guide and friend not a saleswoman or charity worker. 

Ironically, it was Vedek Bareil that had taught Kira Nerys to be this way. Now she found that with Antos the Thief, their roles were entirely reversed. She had a new appreciation for her first flame that wasn’t there before.  
Bareil Antos the Thief was skeptical to say the least. When he saw how content the other worshipers were and he caught a glimpse of the orb itself, he became curious. The Major explained it could cause visions and great change but the Prophets spoke to those that were ready for it.

This isn’t the way the Intendant would spread a religion. Antos knew that in his bones. She would turn Bajor overnight into a theocracy and force conversions if she had to. She would study and analyze the orb until she wheedled secrets and power from it. That woman would sell her pagh, if she had one, in her lust for advancement. Bajor was her playground and the people were her play things. The clergy of this universe were servants and didn’t command and abuse their people. They didn’t even ask for money!

He turned on his charm and did his best to make the Major laugh. She found his fish out of water ways cute. She liked his impulsiveness and lack of filter. He realized she responded well to directness. Her smiles were genuine and beautiful, not the devious smirks and smug smiles of the Intendant. Physically they were carbon copies of each other but they were wildly different in personality. He couldn’t believe it, but he was simply enjoying talking to her.

He was about to walk away and spend the evening cooking up reasons to get close to her when the Major invited him to dinner. Her Trill and Klingon friend had delayed their little dinner party due to the drama Antos caused. They were willing to give him another chance just as she was. She insisted it wasn’t a date to take the pressure off him. She simply needed someone to cover for her and shut up her friend Dax. The woman was constantly trying to introduce her to the next heartache. 

Antos accepted, of course, even though he hated Klingons. He recognized who Worf was in the Mirror Universe. He relished making him look like a fool, stealing his precious weapon when he was distracted. He couldn’t believe this same man was an emperor in his universe. The Major’s Worf barely resembled a brutal Klingon in any way, shape, or form.

Kira and her Trill friend seemed impressed by his antics. The Klingon was forced to admit he was a good thief and he managed to stomach more food and blood wine. Jadzia Dax had a twinkle in her eye when she bid him and Kira farewell. The entire crew did seem far more relaxed and friendly than anyone he’d met within his own universe. He had begged the Major to destroy his transponder so he could stay forever in hers but that was a ploy to earn her trust and pity. He had another way home and he had no plans to be more than a guest here.

The Major paused when they found themselves before her door then took a page from his book by boldly asking, “Would you like a raktajino?”

He nodded with a smile.

The Intendant would be oh so incredibly jealous even though this was part of her plan. Antos had been dreading it but now his attitude had flip flopped. He was realizing that he misjudged Major Kira. Perhaps she wasn’t going to be a cold shrew after all. She was the one inviting him in, wasn’t she?

He sat on her couch to drink the terrible Klingon coffee. They both knew the coffee was merely a prop. The Major barely touched her own mug even though she loved it. Her eyes were glued to his as he spoke at length. She gradually leaned closer to him. Her posturing was a dead giveaway that she was captivated by him. He learned as a teenager a sure sign a woman was interested was if she pointed her legs toward a man or woman lounging this way. He found himself responding.

He didn’t want to bring it up, but it was required. He told Major Kira his embellished sob story about Lisea. The Intendant was proven right again. The Major fell for the story, hook, line, and sinker. She reached out and touched his arm.

“I know what it is like to lose someone,” she said. “A few days ago, all I wanted was to be left alone.”

“You should remain alone,” he wanted to say. “I’m no good for you!” Instead he said, “Major-“

“Isn’t it about time you called me Nerys?” she chuckled.

He caressed her face. She had no idea that the Intendant had hit him for calling her that. This woman was humble and comfortable enough with him that she was giving him permission. She desperately wanted him to use her name. When he said it, she melted before his eyes. 

He felt guilt wrenching and gnawing at his gut. She was acting on grief he was exploiting. She wanted the Vedek and not the Scoundrel. He was half tempted to leave but as soon as they kissed, she enslaved him with a power as potent as the Intendant’s. He couldn’t deny this woman.

“Antos, please love me tonight,” she begged. “Even if it’s only for tonight. I’m not asking too much, am I?”

“No…” he moaned.

She was on the verge of tears. The Intendant could cry on command but they were crocodile tears. She’d never shown him a glimpse of real heartbreak, loneliness, or vulnerability of any kind. She lashed out violently instead. He had bruises and scars to prove it. The Major was strong but she didn’t have a heart of stone like her.

She led him to the bed. He wondered if she had been so bold and eager with the real Bareil. Her kisses and touches quickly became passionate. She was not a teenager like Lisea nor promiscuous like the Intendant. 

“How many partners have you had?” he asked and was horrified at his rudeness. 

“No. I’m not ashamed,” she said between kisses. “Two.”

“Does that include you-know-who?”

“Yes.”

“My counterpart is dead but what happened to the other man or woman?”

“I have never entertained the idea of a woman,” the Major blushed. “The other man was Shakaar Edon, my friend and leader during the Occupation.”

Antos struggled with a hint of jealously to recall if he’d ever heard about this particular man in either universe. He couldn’t and perhaps that was for the better.

“Did he leave you? Is he a complete fool?”

“No, I left him. I couldn’t be what he wanted me to be.”

Maybe she wasn’t the push over the Intendant claimed she was. Maybe she never got over her Vedek. This woman was loyal and loving.

In fact, the next comment she made was, “Antos, let me stop you before we get deep into this for just a moment.”

“What is it?” a moment felt far too long now that they were getting into it.

“I don’t do something like this unless I say this as a rule,” she began to explain. “Please don’t be afraid.”

That made him reel, a little nervous. The Intendant had rules and enforced them the hard way or the easy way depending on her whims. The Major placed a hand over his heart to feel it beat. She smiled shyly.

“Antos, I love you.”

“I love you too, Nerys.”

It was so sentimental the Intendant would have shuddered and threatened to puke. He couldn’t stop his impulse and the Major looked as though she would cry with happiness. She threw herself at him with amazing vigor. 

They made love and there was no pain or sick little games. He didn’t mind most of the Intendant’s tactics and enjoyed them to an extent. For some reason, he didn’t feel any urge to use sadism or use filthy names and language. He was happy to call her ‘Nerys’ over and over again. The Intendant made that simple pleasure a forbidden fruit. She would cry out but Antos quickly caught on that her cries were show unless it was forced with hurt. Major Kira’s vocalizations, her moans, gasps and sighs of ecstasy, were enough to drive him crazy on their own because he could tell they weren’t fake and she was absolutely enjoying this. 

After a short rest, the Major showered and changed into a blue night dress. She was quiet, but Antos was wary and restless. While she slept, he had stroked her hair in the afterglow he never felt with the Intendant. When he saw her blue dress he was reminded of Lisea.

“You look good in blue,” he stated.

“Do I?” she sounded like the Intendant and looked as lustful.

“Smoking hot.”

“Are you up for a second round?”

“So soon?”

She blushed again, “I don’t get sex often, Antos, but when I do, I give it my all and can go an entire night or longer. I’ve never really tested my limits. Is that a problem?”

“You’re an untapped sex goddess, aren’t you?” he teased.

“If you say so.”

“I’d be a lot more religious if I could get away with worshiping you every night!”

She giggled and hopped into bed and in his arms. She reached to take the gown off.

“Keep it on!” he said. “It’s not in the way and I said it looks good on you! It will add some texture and flavor.”

He began to adjust her and she said huskily, “What are you doing? This is new!”

“I like to experiment. Just go with it, Nerys!” he said playfully.


	6. The Orb

“Will you stop pacing?” Kira instructed Antos. 

“What is taking so long? Is this monk ever going to show up?”

The Major reassured him and clasped his hand with a smile. She had no idea his nerves were compounded not just by the fact that he had never had anything remotely resembling a religious experience in his life, but because he knew the orb was the sole reason the Intendant had sent him to this strange universe. As soon as he could steal it, he would be gone. He would never see the Major again. 

I hope I can leave before she suspects a thing, he thought. I don’t want to see the pain in her eyes. My betrayal will be worse than the death of the Vedek. I don’t want to have to explain how terrible I am. I don’t want to have to say goodbye. I’ve fallen for her because I am weak and pathetic.

“You remind me of myself,” she said. “I was terrified of my first experience. Vedek Bareil practically dragged me before the orb in his monastery. He knew I was ready for it. In a way it’s a bit like losing your virginity!”

“What did you see?”

“I can’t discuss that.”

“Some stern nun or monk said so?”

“No.”

She was about to explain more but the monk they were waiting for finally arrived. He gave Antos a blessing of some kind. Antos didn’t want to let go of Kira’s hand. She gently pried her fingers away still smiling a benevolent smile. She almost made him feel better. Then the monk led him into the secluded chamber of the orb.

“Are you prepared, my child?” the old monk said gently.

“What do you think?” Antos scowled. “Nothing is going to happen. Trust me. I don’t even know why you are letting me in here.”

“Major Kira has faith in you. She is beloved of the Prophets. There is no harm in letting you here. Let go of the fear and mistrust in your heart. The Prophets are not angry and jealous gods. It is not their way to seek revenge or judge harshly. If they find you worthy they will show you visions. If they know you cannot benefit from their wisdom, they will simply remain silent and leave you in peace.”

“So what am I supposed to say or do?”

“I will open these little doors and leave you alone for a while. All you need do is simply look into the shining sphere. The Prophets communicate rapidly and in a personal sort of telepathic way. It should be quick. When it is over, the Major is waiting for you just outside the chamber. You may feel a bit disjointed. Some report a sort of out of body feeling that lingers for hours or days after. Time may feel warped and you will feel confused and fatigued. There should be no pain or discomfort in a physical sense.”

“Will I feel a high and withdrawal suspiciously like those induced by drugs?” Antos wished he wasn’t such a smart ass at the most inappropriate times.

The monk laughed, “No, nothing like that! I would know! I’ve dabbled with enough drugs!”

“What? Really?”

“What is religion like in your universe, young man?”

“Whenever I encounter it all it seems to do is forbid anything and everything remotely fun and liberating.”

“That is such a shame! No wonder you are close-minded and disbelieving!”

“Well, I’m as ready and open-minded as I’m going to be. Let’s get this over with, monk.”

The old man opened the doors to the compartment holding the orb and quietly slipped out. Antos glared at the artifact. He counted the seconds and they seemed overly long and monotonous. The stench of incense was offensive to his senses. Nothing seemed to be happening.

“Might as well study this room for when I take this thing later,” he muttered to himself. “Perhaps I should get a closer look at the object itself. I’m half convinced the Intendant is kidding herself and these Bajorans have fooled themselves over some useless piece of crap!”

Just as he was about to step closer, something in the atmosphere changed. He felt a subtle throbbing near his ear and the hairs on his body stood up. It reminded him of the sensation of electricity. He felt alert and his eyes were drawn to look into the center of the sphere. Did the orb mistake him for Vedek Bareil? He wasn’t worthy of this!

Suddenly, he was in a completely different place. He saw himself standing before a temple that was burning. He could hear the roar of the flames and feel the heat scalding his skin. Smoke was in his eyes and invading his lungs. Somehow through all that fiery hellish noise he heard the sounds of worshipers singing and then screaming in the wreckage.

Mother and father.

He didn’t know why that thought flashed in his brain. Before he could make sense of it, he saw Lisea alive and well before his eyes. She was spinning that stupid blue top he had snatched for her. He stole it from a child but he had never told her that. The lights on it were spinning violently and she was laughing. His heart swelled to see her and he wanted to ignore the toy. 

“Lisea!” 

“Antos!” she grinned. “My partner in crime!”

As soon as he touched her, the lights of the top blinded him temporarily and the Intendant was in his arms instead. 

“Antos! My partner in crime!” she cackled.

“Go away!” he groaned. “What is this? I’m supposed to be communicating with gods or aliens or something! What are you trying to tell me? What do these hokey visions accomplish?”

The Intendant was gone and he found himself in the Major’s quarters. They were in the throes of ecstasy and he would have been happy if the Prophets had frozen time so that he could remain in that moment for eternity with Nerys. His lips locked with hers, her arms around his neck, and his hands on her breasts as he plunged within her body. 

Foiled! In the next moment, they were standing and clothed. The Major was in her red uniform and he was wearing those alien temple robes. When she kissed him, she plunged a knife in him. She gave him a twisted smile and he wondered if she had been the Intendant disguised as the Major. He felt the knife scraping bone and twisting in his flesh.

“That old man said there would be no pain!” he gasped as he felt wet and sticky blood pouring over his hands and the knife hilt he was clutching. “The bastard lied! Never trust a priest!”

The pain evaporated and was gone in a flash as he stood in a comfortable home. There were five children playing around him. They all had his black hair. Some of them had blue eyes but most of them had Kira’s brown eyes. They wanted to use him as a jungle gym and called him ‘father’. Kira Nerys was smiling such a happy smile at him from across the room in civilian clothes. He saw a bracelet around her arm and realized he had a matching one upon his. 

“Are these our children?” he said aloud. “Which Bajor are we on? Wait, are these supposed to be my visions or the other Bareil’s? The Major didn’t mention children and they weren’t together long enough to have five! That first vision definitely wasn’t mine. That was the other man’s. My parents are alive and there are no temples on Bajor. The only thing linking us is the Major. But Lisea, she was mine and mine alone.”

Almost in answer to his questions, he was swept away to another place. It was an arboretum he had never seen before. His twin stood before him, the famous Vedek Bareil that everyone kept speaking of. Antos was startled and confused. 

“Why is it that I can’t escape you even here?” he complained.

“You don’t belong here,” the Vedek said to him but there was no malice in his tone.

“Neither do you!” Antos snapped. “You are dead!”

“Death is a transition not a final destination.”

Antos groaned, “You sound like a pretentious bore!”

The Vedek laughed a hearty laugh, “And you seem like an embittered and angst-ridden man. I’m telling you, though, you don’t belong here.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You love the Major.”

“She’s impossible not to love.”

His counterpart’s humor was gone, “I know. We know that, don’t we? We are one.”

“No we’re not!”

The Vedek reached out to take his hand.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” Antos tried to leap away. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you!”

“And yet you intend to impersonate me and take this orb. The Prophets aren’t fooled.”

Antos feared he would be stricken dead again but the Vedek continued to look at him enigmatically and he found that maddening. 

“What do you want?” he demanded of the phantom Vedek. “What do they want? Do they want me to abandon my plan? That’s not happening! I’m not going to be bullied by wormhole aliens that think you and I are the same person!”

“A pagh can exist in many places at once, you know? Just accept that we are one but in separate universes and under separate circumstances. We live many lifetimes at once so that we can learn and become who and what we are meant to be.”

“The only lesson seems to be that life is pain and love is temporary!” Antos snarled. “Can I stop having this vision now?”

“That’s not the lesson.”

“Spit it out then! Share your wisdom, ghost!”

“You do not belong here.”

Antos let out a frustrated cry, “Stop repeating that! It means nothing!”

“You do not belong with the Major.”

Antos hung his head in shame, “I know.”

“We do not belong with the Major.”

He looked up, “We? She won’t ever get over you! Me, she’ll hate me and curse me once I do what I came to do.”

“Brother, pagh of my pagh, neither of us is meant to be with her as her lover. We are her teacher.”

“Some teacher! We both show up and break her heart in different ways!”

“Sometimes a heart must be broken before it can be opened to receive true love and wisdom. Humanoids are so guarded and put up so many walls.”

“I forgot that this is another reason I’m not religious: All gods seem to be sadistic monsters toying with us mere mortals! How does it feel?”

“All things must grow and change and evolve including a pagh. That requires both pain and joy.”

“It shouldn’t! I shouldn’t have to betray the Major! I shouldn’t have to go back to the Intendant! I shouldn’t have to steal and lie and cheat! I wish everyone could be kind and decent! That’s just not the way the universe works, is it?”

“The Major and the Intendant share a pagh.”

“No they don’t! They are different as night and day!”

“So are you and I, pagh of my pagh.”

“I hate you! I hate everything about you!” Antos declared. 

“You don’t belong here. You must find your place.”

Antos suddenly thought to ask, “Is Lisea somewhere in this Celestial Temple these Bajorans speak of?”

The Vedek touched his arm before he could stop him. For a moment, they became one. He couldn’t tell his mind apart from the Vedek’s. He saw himself teaching and instructing countless masses. He saw himself as Kai. Then he saw himself as a street urchin, sitting miserably in prison. He saw the Major and the Intendant standing side by side and he couldn’t tell them apart anymore either. Then the Vedek stood by the Intendant’s side and the Scoundrel stood by the Major. It felt wrong.

He felt as though he was falling through an endless pit. Then he snapped back to reality. He was standing in the chamber of the orb. It had stopped overwhelming him with light. The smell of the incense had faded. He was shuddering and almost dizzy. He felt something similar to the feeling he had felt traveling through universes but multiplied by one hundred. 

He remained where he stood trying to recover and figure out how much time passed while he had his visions. Major Kira would have to tell him. He remembered she was waiting for him. Before he even walked out of the room he forgot half the conversation that transpired between him and the Vedek. His logical brain forgot, but his subconscious mind wouldn’t.

He nearly stumbled from the effort of pushing open the door. Kira caught him and he was relieved to see the crimson red of her uniform. He found himself looking for a knife for a paranoid moment when she tried to kiss him.

“Are you alright?” she looked wounded that he would reject a kiss.

“I didn’t expect to see anything,” he said weakly.

Her little moment of injury was gone and she looked so incredibly happy for him! She gave him a chaste embrace. 

“I knew you would!”

“Nerys, take me away from here.”

“Away?” she looked disappointed. “Don’t you want to meditate? Oh, you probably don’t know how! I-I could teach you. It would be an honor!”

“No, I need to get away from here. Desperately.”

“Alright, I’ll take you to the Promenade. I preferred a quiet place when I had my experience. Judging by what I’ve seen of you so far, you like noise and crowds.”

He gave her a peck on the lips when she wasn’t expecting it, “You know me too well.”

But not enough, he thought bitterly. I still have to betray you.


	7. Countless Broken Hearts

Antos was still shaken from his experience. He was frustrated that he couldn’t remember vital pieces of it. Had any of it made sense in the first place? He wanted Major Kira to help him sort it out. She seemed to know all about this sort of thing but she gave him a helpless look. She repeated that Orb experiences were supposed to be a personal revelation. When he recalled that he had spoken to her Bareil, unmistakable pain was in her eyes. That stopped his incessant questions quick and he realized he needed to get away from her too. 

He had a flash again of Kira stabbing him. Was that some sort of cruel reverse of what he was doing to her? Did the other Bareil have some fear that the Major would betray him or destroy him somehow? Was his counterpart secretly horrible too?

He lay down in a private room and the Intendant herself appeared from the next over. He hoped for a second it was some after effect of his visions. When she leaned over and kissed him she tasted different than the Major. Then he realized she was solid and real. He was irritated that she wasn’t following their carefully laid out plan. Scratch that, it was her scheme and never his. Was she trying to sabotage them both?

The Intendant was never patient and she prided herself on surprising people. She was also in a saucy mood. This was the Intendant. She was always in such a mood whether she showed signs of it or not. This time, however, Antos was not interested. It was clear to his sinister mistress that he was exhausted from what he experienced, but he was disturbed that she seemed more interested in the Major than the Orb.

“So, the Major, how is she?” she couldn’t resist asking.

Antos had a flood of thoughts almost as quickly as those visions had blasted through his brain. He considered trying to lie and flatter the Intendant. What exactly did she want to hear? What would infuriate her more? He was disturbed by how fascinated she was by the Major. He didn’t blame her, but wait, yes he did! 

He knew the Intendant was more than open to the idea of bedding a woman. That was not so odd. Bajorans in both universes had no prohibitions against same sex relations. The Major was her counterpart though. She said it over and over again that she was her. That was a twisted sexual fantasy his own mind couldn’t abide and he knew that Major Kira had rebuffed her, completely repulsed by the idea. Why couldn’t she seem to accept that the Intendant and the Major would never ever be romantic together?  
He was starting to suspect that this whole plot to steal a religious artifact was an excuse for the Intendant to humiliate the Major. He had slept with Nerys because he wanted to in the end. The Intendant wanted him to sleep with her so she could hear every detail. She wanted fodder for her sick fantasies. She wanted to imagine herself in Bariel’s place. He hadn’t really analyzed that before but it was so transparent now.

Her spell had been slipping away from him for a while. In truth, it had been before he laid eyes on the Major. Antos was really beginning to see the Intendant, really see her for what she was. 

What was the point in lying or sparing the Intendant? He answered her question earnestly, “She’s wonderful!”

Sure enough, the Intendant was furious. He saw jealousy in her eyes. She was jealous of Antos and the Major. She wanted whatever they had shared because she was selfish and she liked to think herself as the best lay in any and all universes. She didn’t like to think there might be a better version. She didn’t want her twin to love another after rejecting her. A lie would have probably disappointed her and then she would strike out calling Antos a liar.

When the Intendant tried to strike him, Antos was more than ready for it. His fear of her was ebbing away as well as his enthrallment with her. He caught her fist and refused to take her physical abuse. He didn’t hold back his strength. She was strong but he was muscular and Bajoran men were like many humanoid species. The males were generally the stronger and more aggressive of the sexes. He had just been too much of a gentleman (imagine that) to utilize it. A man had a right to defend himself against abuse the same as a woman.

She made a little face at him and got a rise from his action rather than becoming angrier. He wasn’t surprised. Actually, she was not as unpredictable as she made herself out to be. He was changed more profoundly than he knew from those minutes in the shrine. He was learning that a desired woman was not always desirable. That included women like the Intendant. 

When she accused Antos of letting the Major ‘get to him’, he denied it. She had but it wasn’t just her. The Vedek had gotten to him and the Prophets maybe. He remembered what the Vedek had told him. The Major and the Intendant did share a pagh. As she crooned over him and mulled over their plan, he pretended he was still as much hers as before. When she wasn’t looking, though, he gave her a look of pity. Maybe some of the good that was in Major Kira Nerys was in the Intendant buried somewhere beneath all the pain and hurt that Skrain Dukat must have put her through? Could he find it? Was that his purpose? 

Yes, he had much to think of.

“Show me where the robbers broke in and give me a list of the inventory they stole,” Odo ordered the Ferengi bartender.

“I’m surprised you didn’t send your deputy to deal with this,” Quark said.

“It’s far too early in the morning to wake him!” the Changeling growled. “I remember what sleep deprivation does to a man’s system!”

“Good to hear that you learned to be a more compassionate boss after your bout of hew-man illness! Maybe if you had stayed that way longer, you’d be the most lovable guy on the station!”

Odo stared at Quark with his unreadable face. He managed to make his eyes go blank and dead as well. They were the one feature he couldn’t stop from being expressive. He was being especially guarded lately. Quark wasn’t happy about that. It was always one step forward and three giant leaps back with the Constable. Whenever the Ferengi thought he was opening up and becoming more personable, something like this disastrous appearance of Bareil’s counterpart would come along to ruin all of the progress made.

“Would you like an empty glass to hold, Odo?” Quark asked. “Heated or chilled or maybe not empty but filled with water? You can absorb that. Changelings probably need hydration once in a while. Right?”

Odo’s eyes flickered in confusion, “I absorb water from the air, I don’t need to drink water! Where do you get these ideas in your head? Hold an empty glass for the sensation of something warm or cold in my simulated hands? What is the point of that?”

“I just thought you’d like something to hold or do instead of crossing your arms all the time, sheesh!” Quark shrugged. “Sue me for thinking about these things!”

“How much would you charge me for holding an empty glass?”

“Nothing unless you cracked it or broke it!”

“How did we get onto your favorite subject of money anyhow?” Odo was quicker to impatience than nearly anyone Quark had met. 

“You just did!”

“I am here to investigate the theft you reported, Quark! Let’s discuss that!”

“There was no theft.”

“WHAT?”

“Calm down!”

“Quark, I value my time more than you value latinum-“

“Time is money-“

“SHUT UP!” Odo was worse than usual. “If you quote your rules of acquisition I will shatter every glass in your bar!”

Quark had so many retorts, but Odo’s uncharacteristic lack of control confirmed his suspicions. He knew Odo must be stressed out due to the presence of yet another man in Kira’s life. Technically, it was the same man as the one before. He made the right call baiting Odo here with the lie about a theft in his bar.

“Will it make you feel better to shatter a glass? I’ll let you shatter this one. It’s already cracked and useless. Maybe you would like to splash something in my face? Remember how much that cheered you up when you were dealing with that little Bajoran girl Anasa? How is she, by the way? Do you ever get news from her?”

“She is a pen pal now,” Odo softened. “I get a letter written directly from her a few times a year.”

“I remember Kira helped you with her rescue.”

“You did too.”

“I did?” Quark pretended not to remember.

“Aye, you did. Do Ferengi have worse memories than hew-mans?”

Quark smiled at Odo’s attempt at humor. The Changeling would never attempt it even a year or two ago.

“The Major isn’t going to fall in love with this Antos,” Quark told him. “It’ll just be a fling. So what, anyway? Even you had your flings. First there was Arissa and then that Female Founder. You are even when it comes to that sort of thing.”

Odo looked at him sharply, “What are you on about?”

“Don’t revert to that!” Quark waved his hand. “You and I are beyond this! There’s no way this Bareil Antos will ever be happy in this universe.”

“But Kira-“

“She can’t resist, I know. To her it must seem almost as good as though the Prophets resurrected her beloved Vedek. The reality is that man is no Kai in the making. He’s from the Mirror Universe. You and I have never been there, but we’ve heard the horror stories. There is no way someone there could possibly adjust to this sort of universe or vice versa. Captain Sisko impersonated the other Sisko but how long do you think that could have really worked even if everything had gone smoothly? That place makes even Bajor during the Occupation sound tame!”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Odo rasped. “Especially not in Kira’s hearing!”

“You and I were fortunate enough not to be born a Cardassian or Bajoran, I know. It’s easy for me to say something like that. But I was on this station longer than you, Odo. I saw plenty of my share of horrors. The only thing that kept me from going under was latinum. So much latinum went to bribes to save my own skin but also to others. Thanks to good old greed, the thing you hate so much, I was able to protect my brother and my nephew. I saved a few Bajorans too.”

Odo hated to admit it, but yes, Quark had done countless underhanded things and saved a few lives intentionally and unintentionally. 

“You could be a little more selfish sometimes, Odo.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said you need to be more selfish and greedy, Odo! Fight for what you want! Let the world know you have passions and desires and needs and wants! You may not be hew-man anymore, but I always knew before you were trapped in that fleshy body you had to have some kind of id and ego! The Founders are just as xenophobic and selfish as any other creature! They didn’t care about you while you were hew-man but now that you are a Changeling again, thanks in part to me and that Baby Changeling I acquired, they want you again, don’t they?”

“You know nothing of my people.”

“I am more observant than you give me credit for! I can see that the Dominion is comparable to the Cardassians!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Why do you defend them? Because you’re one of them! You may be in exile, but it’s true! And how is that any different from you wanting a beautiful woman like Nerys? If she hadn’t been a beautiful female Bajoran but a toothless crone or old man, would you have saved her from the clutches of Dukat during the Occupation?”

“Maybe not. Maybe a part of me has always had a weakness for women.”

“And that proves even Changelings are not above bias and selfishness. We can’t blame them for that either! If biological beings were always altruistic and selfless, we’d never bother to care for our young. We are limited beings, Odo! A mother can’t care for her young and the entire rest of the neighborhood’s children! When a wild animal in nature can no longer feed her young sometimes even a mother has to sacrifice one of her children so she can feed the rest and pass on her genes! Which child do you think she’s most likely to kill? The pretty young and strong child or the weak and irritable runt? Or what if someone brought a child not biologically hers to her nest?”

Odo sighed, “If I were trapped as a hawk instead of in a human’s flesh, I probably would be forced to make such a choice. I admit I would probably have a bias for my biological children. Because I raised them myself.”

“It’s good to see you’re aware that Nature isn’t a perfect paradise. Stop romanticizing it and demonizing humanoids like the rest of the Founders. Oh, and yes, don’t be ashamed of your ‘bias’ for Kira. That is simply whatever your core or essence or whatever it is longing for even one selfish thing in your life. She’s your latinum.”

Odo was stumped and speechless for a moment. Quark had no clue that he had been avoiding Kira since the Gaia incident and she had been treating him with a cautious civility. He had already committed a terrible selfish action to save her. None of it mattered if she didn’t love him. Well, she loved him, but not in a romantic sense. She wasn’t ready for it and sometimes he didn’t think he was either even with Gaia Odo’s memories.

Come to think of it, only Kira knew what Gaia Odo had done. She had kept his secret as she always kept his secrets. She had covered for his deplorable actions after the Female Founder and Cardassians took over DS9. She had allowed the rest of the crew to continue blaming the Gaia Dax for changing that timeline. She had even kept his silly stupid secret about his Tribble pet. Why?

“Nerys needs to sort out her feelings not just for this Bareil, but the one that came before and the baggage with Shakaar. I want her to come to me if she is ever interested in something more than friendship,” he declared to the Ferengi. “I won’t manipulate her with power, religion, or even with emotions. That is something I will let the other men in her life do. I am not a man.”

“Perhaps that’s the best thing about you in her eyes!”

Odo harrumphed and began to leave there was no real work for him to do. He chaffed that a Ferengi of questionable moral character was trying to school him on bias and push him toward a premature relationship. 

“I’ll scrutinize this Bareil and look out for Kira, don’t you worry, Odo!” Quark called after him but he could never gauge how good a Changeling’s hearing was and wasn’t sure if he heard.

As Odo walked, he lost himself in his thoughts. That didn’t happen often and usually only when he was thinking about Kira Nerys. He found himself walking through the halls of the living quarters and almost bumped into Kira herself.

“Oh, Odo!” she stopped in her tracks and her mouth gaped open. 

“I’m on my way elsewhere. Don’t mind me, Major, I….”

He trailed off when he realized that something was terribly off. Kira was looking at him as though she were seeing a ghost. Her eyes were moist and her breath was hitched. She was also standing in an unusual and unfamiliar way. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong. She was also broadcasting a tumult of emotions so muddled and fierce he could hardly stand it. She often broadcasted mild and mixed emotions but nothing like this.

“I didn’t expect to see you!” she spoke as though she was unsure. “I’m going. I-I-I can’t believe it’s you!”

“Major?”

He counted the ridges in her nose. They were all there as they should be. Her badge was on the wrong side of her body though. That was very unbecoming of Major Kira. She still looked terribly rattled by his presence. Something in her eyes was different.  
The equivalent of a chill went down Odo’s core. This was not his Major, was it? Was it a Changeling? It couldn’t be. There were tears in her eyes and a Changeling would be too clever to make such a dumb mistake about the uniform. The Female Founder wouldn’t do it and she was the only Changeling that could make tears. She had boasted of it to him.

Before he could confront her, Kira was fleeing from him. He would regret it later, but he dismissed his misgiving. He needed to stop letting that woman distract him. It had happened before and he shouldn’t let it happen again. The Major was just having a delayed reaction to the Gaia incident. She seemed to be terrified of him sometimes wondering how far and dangerous his love for her would go thanks to that. Antos was provoking more dredged up emotions and feelings. That was all. 

Yes, that was all. He had no idea he had not encountered the Major. It had been the Intendant disguised as her and seeing him had been a pure accident. Like the Major, she was avoiding him. Because in the Mirror Universe, Supervisor Odo had been her secret Great Love too and he was gone forever.


	8. Double Betrayal

Antos drank heavily that day at Quark’s. Tonight was the night he had to steal the Orb and leave this universe. If he stayed much longer he would lose his resolve. He would fall too deeply in love with Nerys and end up in that house on Bajor with those five children running around him. More likely the Intendant would murder him, carve his skin, and then rip him limb from limb. Hopefully it would be in that order and not the other way around. While she was lurking about with her double in the same universe she was going to be doubly dangerous. 

On his way to the bar, a Bajoran woman tried to hand him her infant for a blessing stinking of sour milk and baby powder. He was so confused he didn’t berate her right away. He decided it was easier to play along.

“Uh, blessed be this child’s pagh?” he said.

“Thank you, thank you Bareil!” the mother seemed ecstatic. 

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Take your son back please.”

He was on drink number four or five. He wasn’t sure honestly. He flagged the bartender down with an order for one more. He realized the two men sitting a bit further down were staring at him unapologetically. Without the robes, every Bajoran seemed to know who he was. What a strange society this Bajor possessed when they elevated clergymen to super star status and fame. Did they really have no other heroes or champions? How pathetic of them!

“What are you two looking at?” he lost his temper and addressed the entire establishment. “That goes for the rest of you! I’m NOT Vedek Bareil!”

“You heard the man!” the Ferengi said as he cleaned a glass. “People can be so rude!”

Antos looked at him with dull, dead eyes. Quark decided he already didn’t like this man. He was buying plenty of drinks but he was threatening to drive away all the rest of his business. Speaking of business…

He proposed a deal to have the man pose as the Vedek. Why not take advantage of a perfect opportunity that required so little effort? He knew he’d take up the offer if he could! It was a harmless scam. It would give some of the gullible Bajorans with nothing else to look forward to some happiness. Did it really matter if they knew they were being swindled? Latinum always bought happiness one way or another. It was only a matter of price and attitude. 

Quark’s ulterior motive was to study Antos carefully. He noted his eyes and body language very carefully as he responded. He didn’t pretend to understand holy men but he understood criminals. He recognized a guilty conscience like no other. He had one himself far too often. He also tracked the man for a few hours after before he dared to approach Kira.

He knew if he came storming out of the gate criticizing her newest squeeze, she would dismiss everything he said. That wasn’t even a personal flaw. No one liked to be told their lover might be a fraud or using them. Instead Quark was careful about his warning. He didn’t want the whole station to get wind that he might actually be an upstanding friend and not just a troll demanding tolls.

Meanwhile, Antos returned to the living quarters to find the Intendant dressed as the Major. The only thing that tipped him off was the distinct crown she was playing with in her hands. He felt a mix of both arousal and disgust at the same time made worse by the fact that the Intendant threatened to lose control herself. 

He quickly reminded her of the plan. They were running out of time, and like the Major, the Intendant preferred long sessions akin to marathons of passion and not quickies. Antos was usually up to the challenge but she had been known to burn through many lovers in a single night sometimes worse for the wear. He feared the day when he could no longer keep up with her staggering libido.

Finally, they were at the ghastly deed. He bypassed the force field to the shrine while the Intendant did her work distracting the guards and hacking the security system. He was about to open the compartment and seize the Orb when he heard a familiar voice.

“What’s the saying? Once a thief…”

“What are you doing here?” he was irritated because at first it sounded like the Intendant.

“I could ask the same of you!”

“Nerys?” his tone instantly changed to regret and remorse.

He recognized the Major’s slightly different inflection with her second response. They had been intimate so he knew both Kira’s voices like no other. He forced himself to look at her. Of course she was hurt and angry. He had been careless and she explained that the Ferengi had sniffed him out like a treacherous little vole. He wasn’t aware that Quark and the Major were anything vaguely resembling friends. The Intendant slept with aliens the Major befriended them. Well, one evil turn deserved another.

Now that he was caught, it couldn’t be helped. She pointed her weapon at him and he almost snickered but this moment was too heavy and grim. He knew she would never fire because she was supposed to kill him with a knife not a space age gun. The Prophets had shown him that and it made perfect sense. A knife was far more personal. A part of him was a bit relieved she had caught him.

Then the Intendant stepped into the shrine with her own weapon. Antos fought the urge to roll his eyes and took the Major’s weapon from her hands. She was outnumbered though not necessarily outgunned. She knew her twin was far more cruel and ruthless than her. She also realized immediately the exact nature of their relationship, Intendant and Thief.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” she said bitterly to him as he disarmed her.

Yes, he had heard that said of him so often and it was usually a compliment. Coming from Nerys it sounded like a curse. None of his surprises had ever been pleasant.

Antos was annoyed when the Intendant kept speaking to the Major and he said in monotone, “You were supposed to wait for me.”

The Intendant dismissed him like an afterthought and kept egging on her twin. She was confident that she was always in control. Her eyes were intense as she gazed at the Major. What more proof did he need that his initial suspicions had been on the nose? She was getting perverse pleasure from this scenario. He wondered what she’d say or try if he wasn’t in the room. Usually she didn’t care if he was made jealous or not. 

“You can’t let her take the Orb! It’s too dangerous!” Nerys looked at Antos, refusing to entertain her doppelganger. 

“Stop wasting your breath!” the Intendant snapped. “Antos and I are a team. You had your Bareil and now I have mine. It’s only fair. He’s destined to be mine and we will accomplish great things together.”

“If we’re going, let’s go now!” Antos doubted her words a great deal.

“You don’t have to do this!”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet?” the Intendant continued mocking both Antos and Nerys. “She’s still trying to save your soul! Of course you don’t have one!”

“She’s right,” Antos acknowledged. “I’m not worth saving.”

I’m not worth your love, he thought.

“You sound pretty certain of that,” Nerys looked so sad for him.

She truly had faith in him even now after he had betrayed her. The Intendant never did and said so. When the Major asked if Antos had only been using her all along and never for a second loved her, he couldn’t muster an answer. He would allow the Intendant to lie for him. It was better that she never think fondly of him again. If she hated him, it would be easier to let him go, right?

But Nerys still seemed unconvinced. It wasn’t delusion. She was calling his bluff. Nothing about their night together had been forced or false. There was no way he could have faked his reaction to an Orb experience either. It was clear to her that Antos was being manipulated. The Intendant was a narcissist and kept her lovers self-loathing and dependent upon her. Women could be as terrible as men in that aspect, sometimes even deadlier in their methods.

But the Intendant demanded that Antos declare himself the lie with his lips, saying, “Tell her that every time you touched her all that you could think of was me!”

Antos found that so vile and for once in his life he couldn’t lie to either woman. He sighed and shot the Intendant with the stun settings directly in her chest. She slumped unconscious and blessedly silent. He’d had enough of this circus. Nerys didn’t look as shocked as he might have expected. 

“When she wakes up, I’ll have a lot of explaining to do!” he deflected his pain with humor.

“And if you don’t have the Orb she’ll kill you!”

“Maybe,” he chuckled. “That’ll certainly be her first reaction. But I’ve talked my way into her good graces before. I’ll be alright.”

He said the last part softly, trying to reassure her. He was touched that she was so concerned for him. This was a truly great lady.

She blinked at him with resignation, “I guess this is goodbye.”

He took a step forward, his voice sounded as soft as the Vedek’s. He wanted so badly to kiss Nerys. Instead he sighed and decided truth was better than a selfish kiss.

“You know what I saw when I looked into that Orb? I saw you and me together on Bajor. We had a life; a family.”

Her eyes trembled with momentary happiness and she asked in a sharp intake of breath, “What’s wrong with that?”

He flashed her a tortured smile, “Nothing. Might even work for a while but eventually I’d find some way to ruin it. I’m a thief. I belong with her.”

He gestured to the Intendant as the Major’s smile faded and her resignation returned, “Then you should go.”

Antos nodded.

He hoped for a vain moment that Kira Nerys would beg him to stay with her. If he wronged her she could always forgive him and treasure his children if he left her. It might be worth the heartbreak for temporary love and joy. If she had done that, nothing would have stopped him from clinging to her and promising to stay.

But the Major steeled herself with her military discipline. She remembered Benjamin Sisko’s warning about his experience with the Mirror version of his deceased wife and Quark’s words. She was aware she had been manipulated and could even forgive it but she refused to be toyed with in the future by this man. They had their memories of their night together. She would remember that fondly and forget the rest.

Antos recalled the Vedek’s words. He didn’t belong here. The Major was beautiful and had a heart of gold. She would have no trouble finding a better person. All she needed to do was trust the right man or woman. Unlike the Intendant, she could do that. She would make due far better than him.

Major and Thief gave each other a last lingering look before he used the spare transponder and the intruders into her universe vanished together. Kira managed to breathe steadily and hold her composure. She didn’t quite know how. Antos’ words began to sink in. They had loved each other but love wasn’t always enough. Her beloved Vedek was gone and so was her Scoundrel. It was for the best. She was a survivor. She didn’t like being alone but she could bare it. She had no choice.


	9. Hell's Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Intendant goes into more detail about her past with Mirror Dukat. Fair warning, it's not pleasant.

Antos and Ziyal were relieved when the Intendant opened her eyes and then were subsequently terrified. She reached to adjust her crown and then remembered that it wasn’t there and why. She gained her feet and immediately began to display her fury. Ziyal tried to get a soothing word in, but that was impossible.

“Where’s that ungrateful, conniving, useless thief Antos?” she demanded.

“Right here, Kira,” Antos said lazily behind her.

She tried to lunge for him but he simply moved away and Ziyal cried out. The Intendant realized they had placed the hara cat’s collar and chain around her neck so she wouldn’t rip him to pieces. Ziyal could barely contain her.

“What the hell is this?” she exclaimed, clawing at the collar. “And did you just call me Kira?”

“Is that not allowed either? Don’t worry; I’ll never call you Nerys, especially after that mishap in the other universe. Kira is a bit less formal than Intendant, but you said I was your partner, remember? That’s just your surname.”

“Partner? You betrayed me, you worm!”

“Kira, please let him explain!” Ziyal clutched the end of the chain frantically.

The Intendant shrieked like a banshee summoning death personified. Antos made no sign of fear, mixing her a strong drink instead. Ziyal kept trying to placate her. The hybrid looked more delicate than her Bajoran sister but her Cardassian half made her just strong enough to hold her indefinitely.

“How did I betray you exactly?” Antos began, tasting the drink before offering. “I did just as you instructed. I gained access to the Orb and to the Major’s bed. We are home safe and sound. If I had wanted you dead I would have left you on the other station so that she and her captain could have you. They aren’t swayed by your beauty, wit, or your charm. I could have shot you.”

“You did shoot me!” 

She threw the glass and it missed, shattering against a wall.

“I stunned you,” Antos corrected.

“You were supposed to stun or kill the Major and grab the artifact! Did she screw your brains out?”

“Hardly,” Antos grinned wickedly. “Actually, it might have been the exact other way around. I knew you would come to regret me killing another version of you and I couldn’t do it. That universe would be boring without you in it.”

She didn’t confirm his words but he knew it had an effect on her. The Intendant certainly would have punished him for killing Nerys. She’d privately decide that if he was capable of killing her he’d be more than capable of turning on his mistress as well. It might be even easier.

“What about the Orb, you idiot?”

“Huh? Oh, THAT!” he chuckled. “The damn things are hoaxes, Kira. You also didn’t know there’s more than one, did you?”

“You’re a dreadful liar trying to save your doomed skin!”

“I had time to study the Orb before you had to foil our plan again! You were so obsessed with your mirror image that you didn’t give me time to explain. If Ziyal lets you loose, will you allow me to do that?”

“Kira, just talk with him. I hate doing this to you!” Ziyal said.

The Intendant thought about it for a tick. Then she sat on the couch, crossed her legs, spread her arms along the top length of the furniture, and she smiled.

“Why not? I’ll be a good kitty but only because I’m expecting to get a good laugh from this.”

Ziyal let go of the chain for a tenth of a second and then thought better of it. She snatched it right back in a single hand. The Intendant gave her a wounded look and Ziyal shrugged guiltily.

“That Orb is one of a number of obviously man made constructions,” Antos droned. “I steal valuables and expensive rocks as a hobby and career. I can spot carved glass when I see it.”

“What caused your visions, then?” the Intendant didn’t sound convinced.

“All those medicinal and essential oils and herbs they constantly burn in their temples and shrines,” Antos said confidently. “It helps that there’s an echo chamber of thought control and subconscious suggestion. That also explains why some people approach those holy relics and is devastated that they experience nothing. The clergy blame it on lack of faith. Hallucinogenics don’t work the same for everyone. As far as I know, the Emissary Sisko is the only alien that had an experience. I personally think he and a lot of those Vedeks are lying about their experiences. They are politically motivated and religion has nothing to do with it."

“Do you expect me to buy that?”

“Surely you didn’t believe for a second that gods could possibly be real, Intendant Kira?”

He had her stuck between a rock and a hard place. No matter how she answered, the Intendant had to admit she had been fooled. She had always been an atheist. She let out a scorned cry.

“Why didn’t you tell me that, Antos! Or better yet the Major? I would have loved to see her face when you told her that her entire religion was a lie!”

“I was getting to that!” Antos snapped. “You just couldn’t listen to me, though, could you? If the Orb was real don’t you think making the Major a champion or worse, a martyr, would have caused catastrophic consequences for both our universes?”

The Intendant looked sheepish, “There’s no way armies could cross over!”

“How do you know? A small number of assassins in the right place would be enough! And what if the Prophets were real?”

The Intendant chortled, “Then you and I would be in Hell. Fine! I have to believe you. There are no gods so the Orbs must indeed be fakes. Ziyal, release me for real this time, darling. I’m not mad at you, I promise. You did the right thing.”

Ziyal let go of the chain, visibly relieved. Antos made no sign.

“Now what am I going to do with you, my scoundrel?” the Intendant put her face in her hands.

“I suggest we manufacture Orbs of our own. We never needed the other universe for the original scheme only smoke and mirrors.”

“You still want to play, Kai, eh?”

“Yes,” he said gleefully. “Want to start by confessing your sins to your Kai, naughty Kira?”

“Oh, I see!” her eyes flashed but he struggled to tell if it was with lust or dangerous anger. “Ziyal, privacy please?”

She left them alone as the Intendant kneeled before Antos in a mockery of the ritual of confession. She reached up and placed her hands on his hips, parting her lips, eyes shining deviously. Antos tried not to respond in anything but a stoic way. That was hard considering the Intendant was still dressed as Major Kira Nerys. She was being especially provocative. 

“What shall I confess first, my Kai?” she whispered.

“Tell me what that Cardassian did to you,” he instructed with all seriousness.

She looked possessed with hatred for a moment then laughed maliciously, “Oh, you want to dredge that up? I’ll make you regret it, Antos!”

His heart immediately sank.

“I adored Skrain Dukat! I never knew my real father. My mother was a powerful woman that ruled Bajor from this station and was often parted from him. She employed Skrain as her adviser and they began a scandalous affair if they had been open about it. He became my father in every sense!”

She smashed a Cardassian vase but Antos didn’t flinch and said, “Continue, my child, unless this is too painful...”

“Fuck you, you condescending ass!” she cursed vigorously. “You’re the one that wanted to play priest now finish what you started!”

“I’ll drop the stupid act but tell me the truth anyway! I need to know!”

“I followed Skrain everywhere. He taught me to read and write. He tucked me into bed at night and gave me sweet kisses. He gave me anything I asked for. He made my mother happy but she hinted that she might send for her husband. As soon as that rumor flitted about the station, both my parents died under mysterious circumstances. I didn’t know it then, but Skrain had them murdered!”

“I’m so sorry.”

“No one cares about how you feel, Antos! I was inconsolable! For months I couldn’t sleep, tasted nothing, and I wept and wept. The dawn of my twelfth birthday came and Skrain woke me by having Terran slaves hold me down on my stomach as the man I had called my father inked his name into my back! I screamed in pain and wailed into my pillow. When he was finished he instructed me to lie there the rest of the day so that I wouldn’t spoil his art. He said he had adopted me and I wasn’t to call him father anymore but Skrain.”

“Why did he adopt you if he didn’t want you to call him father?”

“It made me his property. He ruled the station and Bajor through me. He refreshed the ink every anniversary of my birth after that.”

“Why do you still keep it?”

“To remind me! After the third time, I stopped squirming and struggling. I grew to expect the pain and barely felt it. When I ceased struggling, Skrain patted my hair and told me he was proud of me. He wanted to make me strong and clever and capable. He kept promising things would get better and that he loved me.”

“Kira-“

“Don’t interrupt! That was merely scratching the surface! He made me sleep in his bed. I had slept in bed with him and mother before but never alone. He kept the heat high so that I peeled off my clothes. He wanted me to get used to his scales and he was grooming me, Antos! He took it slow but he molested me more times than I can even remember. I thought some of what he was doing was normal!”

Antos was horrified. This was a terrible mistake. The Intendant couldn’t stop now that he had opened the Pandora’s box.

“That’s not all! He paired me with others so that he could watch and instruct. He taught me that my greatest instrument I would ever own was my body and that I should never balk at using it! He made me watch as he tortured the Terrans. If I looked away he slapped me and forced me to look. As I got older he made me assist him. I know pain and pleasure like you wouldn’t believe! I learned not to pity the Terrans because they didn’t fight and they turned on each other so often without resorting to torture. Some of those same Terrans helped Skrain to hold me down so he could force himself on me!”

“When did this stop?”

“It was a bit after Ziyal was born. I was Skrain’s favorite but he dabbled with other Bajoran women when he had to leave me for periods at a time. That girl was an accident but when her mother died she was sent to him in a woven basket. He loved her like an actual father and I loved her too. I never had siblings and she was the closest thing to that I would ever have. But his obsession with me continued and I worried sometimes he would do the same to her. She might be just Bajoran enough for Skrain to decide he wanted her too! I learned not to put anything past that man! When Ziyal witnessed for herself the things he did to me, she helped me plan a coup. She recommended Garak as my advisor. He served me quite well until he betrayed me later! I was a woman by then so I was granted my full power by Bajor.”

“Why is the man still alive?”

“He made me hate him and love him in equal parts. I emulate him because he’s powerful and he’s never been entirely wrong in his actions or motives. I’m never really shocked by anything. I’m capable of everything! I’m a monster, but monsters win, Antos! He unlocked my potential and I’m not afraid to use it! When we banished Skrain from the station, he went willingly. In fact, he said that was his plan all along. It was the final test to prove I was the Intendant of Bajor. His real desire has always been to rule Cardassia first and Bajor was merely a pleasant distraction for him!”

“You let that man set your moral compass?” Antos realized with dread. “You’re better than him. You don’t have to emulate him or forgive him!”

“You stop playing priest!” she shouted.

“Kira, this has nothing to do with gods and monsters. This is about you. You need help!”

“Help?” she scoffed. “No one helped me when I was a little girl, Antos! Anyhow, it’s done! What’s there to do about it? I don’t need help or pity or love. What I need is to destroy my enemies and take whatever I want with no inhibitions! I’m more than fine! I’m the Intendant of Bajor but I’ll have the galaxy someday. You can rule it by my side if you’re strong enough, Bareil Antos!”

She stood grinning at him. Antos realized she was right. There was probably no helping her. She had accepted and even embraced who and what she was. As for playing Vedek, he was obviously a dismal failure. All he could do was try to escape this woman before she destroyed him one way or another.


	10. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The prototype Orb the Intendant had manufactured was made of the finest quartz and crystal. It could simulate an impressive light show and glow gentle blue, aqua, turquoise, jade, bright gold, and blinding white. Despite how beautiful it was, the Terrans she sent to test it reported migraines and a few had seizures. Antos told her that wouldn’t do. The real Orbs had never negatively affected a single person like that. 

“It can’t be helped,” she shrugged. “This might actually be better! It will strike fear into the hearts of the people knowing there’s a slight risk. We can simply spin it that whoever experiences anything but good things was riddled with sin or doubt.”

When they experimented with different forms of hallucinogens, the results were worse. Bajor in the Mirror Universe was vastly different. Not much could be grown on the planet and nothing that wasn’t a little bit toxic. They opted for colorless and odorless gases to induce ‘visions’ rigged to be released from the Orb’s compartment when the doors were opened. A few Terrans actually died from the deadlier gases and continued to die until they found a gas that was acceptable.

“Kira,” Antos was very uneasy. “Do we want to risk harming our own people? What if we damage or kill the young and old?”

“We’ll ban children from Orb experiences until they come of age. We’ll make the believers pay all sorts of tithes and study scripture long before they get near a shrine with an Orb. As for the old, don’t you think they should be grateful for a bump in the list to get to the Afterlife?” 

“The scientific community will demand to study the objects.”

“Then we’ll hire jokers to pose as experts and they can declare them miracles. We’ll forbid the real scientists from going near them.”

“How do you stop amateurs or the average skeptic from exposing this?”

“Bribes and threats work wonders.”

“And when a man or woman stumbles out of that shrine broken and confused?”

“That’s when their Kai tells them exactly what to feel and think and believe, darling!” she took his chin into her hands.

“What if I can’t do that?”

She slapped his cheek, not hard, “You make something up! It won’t matter because religion never has to make sense!”

Antos groaned. He liked this scheme less and less. He felt awful for the Terrans being used like lab rats and he knew as soon as the rest of the Orbs were polished and complete, the Intendant planned to murder the artisans that made them to keep the secret. He didn’t like to think of the countless Bajorans he was expected to deceive and lead astray like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Of course the Intendant had no conscience about this whole thing.

Antos was still her lover. For a brief period she continued to role play as the Major. He could almost believe that Nerys was in his arms again. He was teasing himself but it was enough to keep pleasing the Intendant. That was all that mattered. She grew tired of intimacy that she called ‘vanilla’ and quickly reverted back to her regular games and he realized he couldn’t go back to that sort of lifestyle with any sort of heart behind it.

To avoid her bed, Antos told her he had holy work and produced handwritten manuscripts as proof. 

“It looks like you are taking this whole Kai thing much more seriously than I ever thought you would!” she was slightly impressed. “I didn’t think you were the sort of man that took anything serious in his life!”

“If you haven’t noticed, I’ve changed.”

“Yes and it might not necessarily be a bad thing. I hate the idea of your body aching for mine, though.”

“It’s hard,” he lied, “But I wouldn’t dream of you being denied your fun. Why don’t you treat yourself to your playmates?”

“Really?”

“Go on. I won’t become jealous and controlling, I promise you.”

She kissed him, “You’re so generous!”

The Intendant had remained faithful to him as soon as she began taking Antos to bed and she looked genuinely baffled that he would allow her to seek pleasure elsewhere even for a night. Ziyal had told him the Intendant rarely remained monogamous. It was a sign that she had come to somewhat care for her paramour. Antos thought it much more likely that she wanted to keep him under her spell. It didn’t take much convincing for her to summon her servants.

“Would you like to watch?” she beckoned to him.

“I’ll have to try to work at the same time,” he warned.

“No matter.”

He remained in the room, scribbling away and trying not to get too distracted. He did notice that when the Intendant paired with a woman, she was completely different. With her men, she was often rough and sadistic. With women she was very sensual and slow. She only inflicted pain or was domineering if she requested it. None of her partners were ever forced and none were underage. The Intendant wasn’t entirely a monster. One of the girls seemed terrified at first, but it didn’t take long for the Intendant to seduce her and treated her gently.

The night came when he couldn’t keep avoiding the Intendant, though. She dismissed the servants and he tried to please her without giving too much of himself. She grew impatient.

“Do you really think I’ll let you get away with only foreplay?” she snapped. “I appreciate the effort. Too many men are terrible about it, but I’m a woman with appetites! You know this!”

“You expect me to play the role of a godly man and turn into a sex beast within the next instant!” he snapped back.

She flicked his ear, “You’re giving me the impression that you no longer like me, Antos!”

He was chilled to the bone and he tried, but for once in his adult life, he couldn’t perform. She was insulted but not even a dose of aphrodisiacs could help. He had fallen out of love. She warned him never to let this sort of thing happen again and threw him out of her chambers. He couldn’t feel sympathy for her only fear for his life. 

He began to spend more and more time with the Terrans. Another elderly man was traumatized by the Orb and another Terran volunteered to treat him. She was a doctor before she was captured and turned slave. She had skin that wasn’t far off in tone from Lisea’s. Her hair was a different texture and there were no blue streaks, but she had similar eyes. She was a full grown woman and not a teenager. Antos wondered for a moment if Lisea had been allowed to mature, she would have been much like this woman.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Kasidy Shameeka Yates.”

“That’s right, your people have middle names, don’t you?” he smiled at her. “It’s a shame they don’t allow them to work in the medical ward either. We are always in sore need of doctors and nurses.”

“I’m no nurse,” she bristled.

“Dr. Yates, do you have other talents, I’m not aware of?”

When she looked at him critically he realized Bajoran males didn’t converse with Terran females this long without something very specific in mind. He blushed and her eyes grew defiant.

“I’m sorry; I mean talents or skills having to do with careers.”

“Are you asking if I cook?” she narrowed her eyes.

“No, I mean do you know how to pilot? Do you have engineering skills or mechanical skills?”

“Is it relevant to this poor man’s condition?”

“I heard a rumor that most of the Terrans here are suspected terrorists. Resistance fighters.”

“I don’t put much stock in rumors,” Dr. Yates focused on her patient, glad to exercise her medical license.

“Listen, doctor, I knew a young girl that had Terrans as nannies.”

“Good for her.”

“She became a thief and spent nearly all her coin by handing it to refugees in Ilvia and household slaves of Terran origin.”

“She sounds like an angel. What happened to her?”

“She was killed by a drunken Klingon by accident.”

He had always called the incident murder before.

“Figures that the good ones die so young,” Dr. Yates said bitterly. “What does this have to do with me? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“The thing is, Kasidy, that I have lived two lifetimes. I have lived as a holy man and a sort of devil. I don’t want to be either of those things anymore.”

The woman hesitated, “What exactly are you saying, and who are you? I know you are the Intendant’s toy but-“

“I am Bareil Antos. I am not the Intendant’s, and I want to join the Resistance.”

“Are you actually initiating something here, Antos?” the Intendant said with what sounded almost like hurt.

“I am. I am very much in the mood.”

She threw her head back with indignation.

“Don’t pout. It’s very unbecoming of you, Intendant.”

“You performed very poorly last time and it has been ages since you sought me out instead of me seeking you out.”

“A man can play hard to get too you know.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like it!”

“You seemed to be having more fun with your playmates.”

“Don’t you dare use that against me!” she jabbed a finger at him. “You were the one that suggested I go outside the relationship! I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t granted me the liberty.”

“And I told you I wouldn’t hold it against you! Calm down, Kira. Sh!”

He soothed her with a massage of her shoulders. She resented it, but she began to relax. Had she missed his touch? No, it was too late to start feeling pity for this woman. He nibbled her ear.

“Will you allow me to play the dominate role tonight?” he whispered.

She giggled, “If you can persuade me.”

“No, I’m feeling aggressive tonight.”

He pinned her down but she seemed delighted, “Why haven’t you done this sooner, Antos?”

“I guess you have always liked a bad boy.”

“Mayhaps.”

She didn’t stop him as he bound her arms and legs to the bed. Once he had tightened the restraints, however, he moved away. She frowned.

“What are you doing, Antos?”

“What am I doing, Antos?” he repeated. “I’m leaving you.”

“WHAT?”

“Face it, Kira, this whole relationship was nothing but a lie like the phony religion you want to make up. It won’t work in the long run. You and I weren’t meant to be together not with me playing Kai or Thief. I can’t love you anymore than I could love the Major. You share a pagh, if only you could see it.”

“She did get to you!” the Intendant was furious. “I don’t believe this! I plucked you from a prison cell, Antos! I was going to make you an emperor! How dare you do this to me? You might as well have refused the hand of God!”

“You are just a woman, Kira. You are a broken woman. I wish I had known you before Skrain Dukat twisted you. Maybe you would have become just like Nerys. If there is still some part of you that’s good, I won’t be the one to unlock it. I pity you.”

“Damn your pity!” she retorted. “Damn your love and damn your lies! If I ever come across you again, I’ll kill you! You’ll never get off this station anyway.”

“I have help and a hostage.”

The Intendant’s fury and confidence instantly wavered, “A hostage?”

“Dr. Yates?”

The Terran rebel appeared with Ziyal before her. She was pointing a gun at her to keep her docile. Ziyal was in tears.

“I’m so very sorry, Kira!” she cried. “Antos fed Mia a steak with sedatives in it. Then they took me captive.”

“Antos, don’t you dare hurt my little moth!” the Intendant begged.

Antos struggled not to react. He had never seen this woman beg before for anyone unless it was an obvious act.

“We won’t,” Dr. Yates reassured her. “As long as you let us go.”

“Never!”

“Shoot the girl, then!” Antos ordered.

“NO!” the Intendant burst into tears. “Ziyal! Don’t hurt her!”

She gave them the codes they needed to use the transports. Before he left, Antos destroyed the prototype Orb and smashed the others still under construction. He shredded the religious documents and freed as many Terrans as he could. If any of the Intendant’s loyalists threatened them, they threatened the hybrid girl.

“Are you ready, Antos?” Dr. Yates asked.

“I am.”

“How could you do this to her?” Ziyal said angrily at him. “She’s wonderful! I told you that! I said if you ever betrayed her-“

“The Intendant is no different than your father. In a way, she is more his daughter than you will ever be. Maybe you can help her where I couldn’t. I pray that you do. She is not as wonderful as you make her out to be.”

“Remember that us Terrans could have killed you,” the doctor pointed out. “We are people not slaves.”

Ziyal looked stumped. She had been raised to hate Terrans more than any other race. Once the rebels were gone, they released her. She raced back to the Intendant.

“Untie me!” she ordered. “Thank goodness Garak isn’t here! He would have broken a rib laughing at the sight of this!”

“I always kind of liked that man.”

The Intendant groaned, “Yes, I know, Ziyal.”

The hybrid untied her and the Intendant covered her with kisses, relieved and happy that she was unharmed. For the moment, she was able to forget about Antos. It was then that the computer interrupted their reunion, letting them know the Intendant was getting a personal call.

“Kira, don’t answer that!” Ziyal pleaded. “You know who it is!”

“I have to.”

“Why?”

“Wait for me outside.”

As soon as she was behind the quarter’s doors, the Intendant answered the call. Skrain Dukat’s face filled the screen. He didn’t call often but just enough to reopen her wounds and to renew his power over her.

“My beautiful Nerys,” he gloated. 

“I have asked you repeatedly to simply call me Intendant.”

“It has been a long time. Take that silly crown from your head so that I can take you seriously.”

“It stays where it is.”

“Have it your way,” Dukat said with amusement. “You are still so lovely.”

“Ziyal has grown into an elegant lady far more beautiful than I ever could be. If you cared.”

He shook his head and sighed, “Neither of you will ever forgive me, will you?”

“She might. You never did a fraction of the things you did to me to her. As for me, it’s just not in my nature to forgive and forget. You taught me that. Like father like daughter.”

She only used that phrase as an expression. She didn’t call this man father, Skrain, not even by his title. Any name she called him tasted rancid in her mouth. Every time she conversed with Dukat, she felt the stirrings of a sad, scared little girl squirming inside her.

Instead of being ashamed or injured, the psychopath smiled, “I am proud of you.”

“Sure you are, but you aren’t as proud of me as I am of myself,” she copied his smile. “What do you want?”

“I had a dream about you.”

That wiped the smile and bravado from her face, “So what? Do you tell your new mistress about that? What is her name? Ro Laren, if I’m not mistaken?” 

“Correct, as always, Nerys. You have good Intel.”

“I’m happy for you! With any luck she will be your downfall!” she said bitterly.

“She reminds me of you. That’s why I like her.”

The Intendant bit her tongue, threatening to cut it. She felt sick the way that only this man could make her.

“I keep hearing rumors and finding evidence that you are plotting against the Alliance. Stop it!”

“I’m not a little girl anymore!”

“You are a selfish, spoiled, stupid little girl!” his voice became venomous. “Your lovers and servants are too cowed to say it! I am not! You have that station at the moment entirely because of my good will! Don’t you forget that! I made you, Nerys!”

“Technically Kira Taban did that and you murdered him, didn’t you? I want you to admit it! All these years, you have always denied it!”

“That man is the unfortunate reason why you were born weak and I had to make you strong. I did my best to destroy his influence. Your mother was lonely, young, and settled with that man because she hadn’t yet met me! Why are you so convinced I killed him? Your mother was always looking for ways to escape their marriage.”

The Intendant became silent. She made a fist at her side. Of course he was never going to confess.

“Promise me you will behave, Nerys?”

“I’ll be more subtle and clever in the future.”

“That’s not quite what I asked for but that is good enough. Give Ziyal a kiss from her father. You are always in my dreams.” 

He ended the call. Ziyal immediately reentered and put her arms around the Intendant from behind. 

“I heard everything,” she said. “I just didn’t want him to see me. He’s shameful to say such things to you. Why do you let him do it, Kira?”

“Sometimes I like punishment.”

“Let me bring you a new paramour?”

“Please do.”

“What would you prefer?”

“I need a long break from men!” the Intendant groaned. “Bring me a woman!”

“Any other preferences?”

“Not a Terran, Bajoran, or a Cardassian!”

Ziyal knew that, because of her father, the Intendant could never pair with a Cardassian again. She lit up when she got an idea into her head.

“I think I know the perfect girl! She’s brand new and only arrived yesterday. She’s a joined Trill and adorable! Her name is Ezri Dax! Would you like to meet her?”

“A joined Trill has memories and traits of both sexes!” the Intendant perked up. “She’ll be delightful! Just let her know what she’s getting into before you bring her to me.”

“Yes, Kira!”


	11. Epilogue

Antos Bareil sat huddled together with his Terran cell members in a bunker in some city called London on Terra. When he called it Terra, though, his cell mates laughed at him and told him they had always called it ‘Earth’ and simply called themselves human. Only aliens called the planet or people any other name. It was the same with their only moon. They didn’t call it Luna unless they were astronomers by profession or hobby. They were an interesting species and so diverse his head would spin hearing dozens of different languages within their cell alone. 

At first they didn’t know what to make of the mysterious Bajoran man. They wondered what could have possibly motivated him to fight for their cause. He seemed duplicitous but in a good way. Dr. Yates vouched for him and seemed to trust him. She was highly regarded amongst the rebels. She had made no sign of her fame or experience to Antos before. He was happy when he heard tales of more and more aliens like him were defecting to the Terran cause. 

Kasidy Yates was always at his side now, his personal doctor and partner in crime. Who would have thought his criminal career could yield the Resistance such excellent results? He was already being drilled into something resembling a soldier. It was a dramatic change compared to what he was used to but he realized it was more than necessary to keep him and his new friends and comrades alive. They were fighting a grim war against a superior force and yet they would never surrender. There was something admirable about that.

Antos thought of Major Kira Nerys every time he meditated before a skirmish. She had been a Resistance fighter during the Occupation. Now he was experiencing just how hard such a life could be. It was hard, but when they rescued children from hopeless circumstances that he knew would have died or lived a miserable life of slavery otherwise, he found it far more rewarding than even the biggest stolen score. He was very glad he was no longer serving the Intendant. 

As far as he had heard, the Intendant of Bajor had abandoned her plans to convert her people. Their Bajor would have never bought the sham anyway. The Bajor in the alternate universe had adapted their religion over countless generations. It was one thing to invent a small cult overnight, but to force it into the household of an entire planet and across the galaxy? Even the Intendant must have known the whole idea was delusional. 

He would certainly never forget them, Major and Intendant. He would also never forget his Orb experience. He felt like he was embracing his new identity outrageously easy, growing into a strange blend of both Vedek and Scoundrel. Then again, black and white was boring and rigid. Shades of gray could be beautiful and complex. He decided maybe things were better that way after all.

Meanwhile, back on DS9, the Major was praying for his pagh before her shrine. She always seemed to get interrupted during that sort of thing. She heard the door chime and impatiently called to the man or woman to walk on in. The Prophets would always be there waiting for her and were never impatient like people.

“Oh, Odo, it’s you!” she gasped when he took a step inside.

“Yes, I can leave this at your door if you don’t want to see me, Major!” he said awkwardly. 

“No,” she took a step toward him. “You have something for me?”

He was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t seem afraid or restrained. There were times he wondered if she was close to forgiving him for all he had done in their recent past. He smiled at her in case she was still ill at ease. She didn’t seem to be. She reached out for the parcel.

“This was found in your quarters a while back by my security team. I scrutinized it and decided it was better to give it to you than let it collect dust in my evidence room. Technically it is yours.”

“What is it?”

He pulled out the Intendant’s silver crown from the parcel and held it out to her. Kira stared at it for a moment.

“This is mine?”

“I did say technically,” his smile broadened.

“What in the world am I going to do with this thing?”

“Perhaps you can wear it to Jadzia’s upcoming wedding!”

“They haven’t set an official date yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time.”

As she took the crown from him, she almost made a terrible remark that Odo might have liked to have met the Intendant. She was far more like the Female Founder than like her minus the sexual appetite. Luckily she held her tongue and stopped her mouth. She didn’t like to lash out at her best friend even when she was at her angriest. She usually simply walked away from him.

“Thank you, Constable,” she said his title as she always did with special affection. 

“You’re very welcome, Nerys. Please go back to your prayers. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

He turned away and out into the halls to patrol or stride back to his office. Kira spun the crown about in her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror and reached to place it on her head, curious. But before it could touch her, she balked. She thought about destroying it but for some reason she couldn’t do that either. She tossed it deep into her closet and didn’t bring it out again for a while. She wondered with a slight chill how much of the Intendant was in her. She hoped she would never find out.

**Author's Note:**

> "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon
> 
> Somewhere there's speaking  
> It's already coming in  
> Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind  
> You never could get it  
> Unless you were fed it  
> Now you're here and you don't know why  
> But under skinned knees and the skid marks  
> Past the places where you used to learn  
> You howl and listen  
> Listen and wait for the  
> Echoes of angels who won't return
> 
> He's everything you want  
> He's everything you need  
> He's everything inside of you  
> That you wish you could be  
> He says all the right things  
> At exactly the right time  
> But he means nothing to you  
> And you don't know why
> 
> You're waiting for someone  
> To put you together  
> You're waiting for someone to push you away  
> There's always another wound to discover  
> There's always something more you wish he'd say
> 
> He's everything you want  
> He's everything you need  
> He's everything inside of you  
> That you wish you could be  
> He says all the right things  
> At exactly the right time  
> But he means nothing to you  
> And you don't know why
> 
> But you'll just sit tight  
> And watch it unwind  
> It's only what you're asking for  
> And you'll be just fine  
> With all of your time  
> It's only what you're waiting for
> 
> Out of the island  
> Into the highway  
> Past the places where you might have turned  
> You never did notice  
> But you still hide away  
> The anger of angels who won't return
> 
> He's everything you want  
> He's everything you need  
> He's everything inside of you  
> That you wish you could be  
> He says all the right things  
> At exactly the right time  
> But he means nothing to you  
> And you don't know why
> 
> I am everything you want  
> I am everything you need  
> I am everything inside of you  
> That you wish you could be  
> I say all the right things  
> At exactly the right time  
> But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why  
> And I don't know why  
> Why  
> I don't know


End file.
